Beijing cracks down on heavy polluted vehicles

In a bid to control motor vehicle pollution, over 1,000 vehicles with excessive exhausts in Beijing will be banned from operation starting Dec 20, a local environmental watchdog said Friday.

The Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said drivers who are caught with such vehicles will be fined 100 RMB ($15). After banning these 1,000 vehicles from Beijing roads, old vehicles with excessive exhausts, also known as 'Yellow-label' vehicles, will become extinct.

The municipal government encouraged drivers to junk and replace their old vehicles through certain subsidies. Up to now, over 900,000 old vehicles have been phased out while the municipal government allocated around one billion RMB annually in subsidies to drivers. The bureau said Beijing currently holds around 5.6 million'Yellow-label'vehicles.

Beijing has listed the vehicles exhausts as a major pollution source, accounting for 31.1 percent of the PM2.5 – particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns that is hazardous to human health in the capital.