Press release

ICCT receives prestigious award from Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection [news release]

On February 28, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) recognized ICCT’s “outstanding contribution” in supporting the development of China’s sixth stage emission standard for light-duty vehicles — Limits and Measurement Methods for Emissions from Light-Duty Vehicles (China 6 standard).

 

Image 1

At left, front cover of the China 6 standard. Right, Hui He, Senior Policy Analyst and China Lead (third from left), accepts the award on behalf of the ICCT’s China Team.

The standard is among the world’s most stringent and combines best practices from both the European and U.S. regulations. The rule, which will take effect beginning on July 1, 2020, is expected to help reduce emissions from four major ambient air pollutants—carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter (PM)—by approximately 3,400,000, 4,200,000, 1,000,000, and 26,000 metric tons, respectively, in 2030. These reductions would help decrease the national annual average PM2.5 and ground-level ozone pollution concentrations by 1.1 µg/m³ and 2.1 ppb, respectively. The most significant benefit is expected in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, where implementation of the standard will lower the region’s annual average PM2.5 and ozone concentrations by 2 µg/m³ and 3.7 ppb, respectively.

The technical work needed to develop the China 6 standard was led by the Vehicle Emission Control Center (VECC) of MEP, a close partner of the ICCT. To support the VECC, over the last 2 years, the ICCT produced over a dozen research papers on various technical aspects related to the standard, including on-board diagnostic system requirements, emission warranty and defect reporting, and compliance costs and air-quality benefits associated with the emission reductions from adoption of the standard. Much of this research was completed in collaboration with the California Air Resources Board, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, as well as other top-tier international experts in the field.

ICCT’s work supported the following decision making on the China 6 standard:

  • Adoption of a set of the world’s most stringent and fuel-neutral emission limits for gasoline and diesel vehicles,
  • Inclusion of an emission limit for the greenhouse gas pollutant nitrous oxide,
  • Adoption of California’s OBD II requirements,
  • Adoption of Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure as the main testing procedure,
  • Adoption of an on-board refueling vapor recovery system requirement, and
  • Adoption of China’s first emission warranty program.  

Clean air
China