On October 31, 2007 The Daily Business News reported that, according to Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice-president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the city of Beijing is set to upgrade its current exhaust standard for vehicles from Euro III to Euro IV in 2008. Geared to further improve the city's air quality, the new standard will lead to a phasing-out of 30% of the cars currently sold on the Beijing market.

To date, the automobile market in Beijing has taken actions to cope with the new discharge standards. All buses currently running on city streets are propelled by high-quality diesel that meets Euro IV requirements. Most middle-and-high-end cars; Passat, Dongfeng Honda CR-V, upgraded version of CIVIC and newly released MG 7 series, are also able to meet the new standard. According to an industry insider, the Euro IV poses technological challenges mainly to economy cars and cars developed by domestic manufacturers, especially older models.

In recent years, China has been working hard to control automobile exhaust emissions with the city of Beijing leading the country in this field. Therefore, to Chang'an Group, a major carmaker in China, it was not a surprise that Beijing took the initiative in applying the Euro IV standards. Since the national emission standard equivalent to Euro III has already been long established in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other major cities in China have followed suit. One far-sighted group has equipped its Benni cars with an advanced engine that can be easily upgraded to meet the Euro IV requirement.

Brilliance Auto, another leading Chinese carmaker, recently revealed that its R&D department was busy working on several technological renovation programs. Currently, both its 08 version of Hiace and its independently developed 1.8T engine are able to reach Euro IV emission standards.

But a domestic automobile manufacturer has pointed out that the new requirement was beyond the capacity of many older cars. Even though these cars could be renovated technologically it is not cost-efficient. Moreover, in view of frequently changing market trends, most automakers are unwilling to spend extra money on older models. So the 2008 Beijing auto market would replace these outdated cars with newer models or their upgraded versions.

Brilliance Auto also agreed that the adoption of Euro IV would add to the cost of production, thus leading to a rise in repair and maintenance fees. Since the standard would only be applied in the Beijing market, Brilliance Auto plans to enlarge its sales in other parts of China in order to relieve the cost burden imposed by the Beijing market.

Following Beijing's lead, Shanghai and Guangzhou are now drafting plans for their adoption of Euro IV, which will affect every link in their local car market. Significantly, in the past the promotion of Euro III encountered great difficulties nationwide, because all other policies and regulations related to it had to be adjusted and upgraded correspondingly.

Now, government departments involved in this issue are collaborating to develop detailed rules for the application of Euro IV. Opinions are being widely collected on how to establish a national emission standard equivalent to Euro IV. The new national standard is expected to cover a whole set of strict environmental index.

In an interview with Daily Business News, Zhang Guobao, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), pointed out that China still had a long way to go before all its cars reached the Euro IV standards. Both the quality of the fuel and the technological standards of car production have to improve. However, Zhang stressed, China would rise to the challenges and make every effort to curb auto tail gas discharges.

UNEP lauds 'greening' of Olympics by China

Significant strides have been made to 'green' the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, according to a report issued recently by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said, "The initial score card for the Beijing Olympics and Para-Olympics 2008 is positive in terms of the greening of the games".

According to UNEP website, the report stated that hosting the Games was proving to be a positive catalyst toward accelerating environmental improvements across the city as Beijing strives to balance rapid economic growth with health and environmental protection. Environmental measures introduced in Beijing cover waste management, cleaner transport systems, and new urban green belts. In addition, the report said that the BOCOG should also be commended for the making provisions for energy efficiency and green energy appliances in buildings and for various sports venues.

The report stated: "An interesting innovation is the widespread use in the Olympic venues of ground, water or air source heat pump systems to provide these buildings with heat in winter and air conditioning in summer." Solar power was also being extensively deployed at the stadiums and around the Olympic village. The organizers also had well-developed plans to re-use and recycle these venues after the games have closed.

(China.org.cn by Chen Xia, November 2, 2007)