Review of Beijing’s Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Emission Control Programs

This report gives an overview of Beijing’s comprehensive emission control programs, including the development and evolution of major regulations, implementation practices, and outcomes. Its purpose is to review a variety of existing approaches and highlight best practices as well as the potential challenges of each approach. Since emission control programs include a broad range of means, the report covers most initiatives related to new vehicle standards, fuel quality standards, in-use vehicle emission control, and other programs such as alternative fuel vehicles and vehicle population control. It does not cover programs such as infrastructure improvement, modal shifting, or urban planning. The report starts with a brief history of Beijing’s strategies to limit motor vehicle emissions, followed by an assessment of the city’s vehicle population and composition. It then reviews each type of regulatory initiative. The report ends with a modeling analysis of the environmental (inventory of airborne NOX, PM2.5, BC, CO, HC emissions) and health (in terms of premature mortality) impacts of Beijing’s adoption of vehicle emission and fuel quality standards and the cost effectiveness of adopting more stringent standards.