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Curbing vehicle emissions exhausts simple solutions
By Lu Nengneng |
June 24, 2013, Monday
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SINCE the unprecedented smog that choked Beijing and other cities earlier this year, China has taken a harder line against air pollution, taking aim at vehicle emissions blamed for most of the problem.
Earlier this month, the central government began soliciting feedback from industry groups on proposed legislation to levy a new pollution tax on cars, starting with heavy-duty vehicles.
It is an idea that Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, has always strongly opposed.
"China's auto industry is paying more taxes than its peers abroad, especially those in the developed countries," Dong said. "The State Council has ordered structural tax reductions, but local governments are turning a deaf ear and doing the opposite."
Independent auto analyst Jia Xinguang said the idea of a pollution tax on cars may sound good on the surface, but collecting it may bring a host of new problems.
Citing speculation that Beijing may be selected as a pilot project for a 2-yuan (33 US cents) tax on per-liter gas at the pump, Jia said the proposal won't work unless it's implemented simultaneously nationwide. Otherwise, he said, motorists in Beijing will simply skip across the border into Hebei Province to fill their tanks.
There's another often-discussed proposal to levy a pollution tax according to a car's displacement. The bigger the displacement, the higher the tax. That, too, appears to have its drawbacks.
Analysts said a big car meeting the Beijing V vehicle emissions standards - China's toughest - are not necessarily more polluting than a small car that meets only the less stringent National II standard.
Besides, it seems rather unfair that owners of cars of the same size should be forced to pay the same tax when their actually vehicle use may differ widely.
In fact, forcing them all to pay the same tax might encourage more infrequent motorists to drive more.
Jia said it would make far more sense for the government to address worsening air pollution by accelerating programs aimed at getting people to scrap old cars with high emission levels and by intensifying the promotion of green transportation, such as natural gas cars and electric hybrid vehicles.
According to the latest annual report from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the 9.5 percent of cars falling below the minimum National I emissions standard are actually the source of more than 40 percent of vehicle pollutants.
Only about 3 percent of registered vehicles in China are junked every year, far below the 8 percent scrap rate in developed auto markets.
China has made efforts to encourage the purchase and use of greener cars, but there's been no move yet to renew incentive policies and purchase subsidies that expired earlier this year.
Earlier this month, the central government began soliciting feedback from industry groups on proposed legislation to levy a new pollution tax on cars, starting with heavy-duty vehicles.
It is an idea that Dong Yang, secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, has always strongly opposed.
"China's auto industry is paying more taxes than its peers abroad, especially those in the developed countries," Dong said. "The State Council has ordered structural tax reductions, but local governments are turning a deaf ear and doing the opposite."
Independent auto analyst Jia Xinguang said the idea of a pollution tax on cars may sound good on the surface, but collecting it may bring a host of new problems.
Citing speculation that Beijing may be selected as a pilot project for a 2-yuan (33 US cents) tax on per-liter gas at the pump, Jia said the proposal won't work unless it's implemented simultaneously nationwide. Otherwise, he said, motorists in Beijing will simply skip across the border into Hebei Province to fill their tanks.
There's another often-discussed proposal to levy a pollution tax according to a car's displacement. The bigger the displacement, the higher the tax. That, too, appears to have its drawbacks.
Analysts said a big car meeting the Beijing V vehicle emissions standards - China's toughest - are not necessarily more polluting than a small car that meets only the less stringent National II standard.
Besides, it seems rather unfair that owners of cars of the same size should be forced to pay the same tax when their actually vehicle use may differ widely.
In fact, forcing them all to pay the same tax might encourage more infrequent motorists to drive more.
Jia said it would make far more sense for the government to address worsening air pollution by accelerating programs aimed at getting people to scrap old cars with high emission levels and by intensifying the promotion of green transportation, such as natural gas cars and electric hybrid vehicles.
According to the latest annual report from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the 9.5 percent of cars falling below the minimum National I emissions standard are actually the source of more than 40 percent of vehicle pollutants.
Only about 3 percent of registered vehicles in China are junked every year, far below the 8 percent scrap rate in developed auto markets.
China has made efforts to encourage the purchase and use of greener cars, but there's been no move yet to renew incentive policies and purchase subsidies that expired earlier this year.
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