Tougher standard on cars may not clean air much for Games
A tougher emissions standard for new cars begins today in Beijing, the first city on the mainland to adopt the Euro IV requirement.
By banning the sale of new petrol-fuelled light vehicles that fail to meet the new standard, the move is aimed at cutting key air pollutants and repairing Beijing's smog-plagued image ahead of the Olympic Games.
But with the opening of the Games just 160 days away, mainland analysts said the move was more symbolic than substantial.
The adoption of the National IV emissions standard - the equivalent of Euro IV - was consistent with the capital's pollution control efforts in the lead-up to the Games, said Beijing environmental protection bureau spokesman Du Shaozhong .
'With the implementation of more stringent environmental standards and tougher pollution control measures, [we will] cut emissions of pollutants as much as possible and ensure good air quality during the event,' he said at a briefing set up by Olympics organisers this week.