Beijing started suspending sales and registrations of light gasoline vehicles that failed to meet the capital's new vehicle emissions standards on Friday.

All new light gasoline vehicles for sale and those applying for licenses should meet the new green standards, the so-called "Jing V" standards, said Li Kunsheng, director of the vehicle emissions management department of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

The bureau has released a new draft standard that specifies stricter limits for a variety of vehicle emissions, including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitric oxide and particulate matter.

According to the new standard, each up-to-standard light gasoline and heavy-diesel vehicle should emit 43 percent less oxynitride than those vehicles that don't meet the new standards.

The standard targets only new vehicles and is not applicable to vehicles already on roads, and government authorities will issue a blue decal to each up-to-standard vehicle, Li said.

Statistics from the local environmental protection bureau show that vehicles are responsible for 58 percent of all oxynitride emissions and 40 percent of the city's emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are both considered sources of PM 2.5 pollution.

To date, the number of vehicles registered in Beijing exceeds 5.2 million, indicating that one in four residents owns a car.

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