The United States has pledged to help China, the world’s No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gasses, to develop and implement its future vehicle emission standards.
According to a White House fact sheet, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department will help with the modeling, testing and other technical research needed for China to develop its sixth round of emissions standards, which will require that cars be fitted with filters that trap particulate matter that contributes to heavy smog.
At present, China is working to effect its fourth-stage emission standard, known as China IV, which will lower the allowed sulfur content from 350 to 50 parts per million. China V, expected to be implemented countrywide by 2017, will lower sulfur content to 10 parts per million.
The United States and the European Union currently cap sulfur content at 15 and 10 parts per million, respectively.
It represents a significant development that the U.S. will assist in creating China’s sixth stage of standards while the fifth stage is still in progress, one U.S. official believes.
“The United States is interested in moving to China to six as soon as possible,” the official told Reuters. “It is a clear signal that China wants to move forward in an accelerated way that will have far reaching impacts on air quality and public health.”
The new standards come as China is experiencing unprecedented growth in passenger car ownership, which reached 120 million at the end of 2012 and could exceed 200 million by 2020.
Photo by Ronan Glon.
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