China State Council Issues Timetable for Fuel Regulations

China’s State Council has issued new regulations for oil companies and automakers as a solution for the toxic smog.

Oil companies are required to offer cleaner fuel in the country beginning with 2014, according to the Xinhua news agency. By the end of this year the Council will also issue a regulation for the auto petrol that caps sulfur content within 10 parts per million (ppm), but the grace period will extend until the end of 2017. Beijing is the only city in China to adopt the new standard, which is similar to Europe’s Euro V.

Due to excessive pollution, the Beijing government has temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took off roads 30% of government vehicles. Still, the air in Beijing has remained at hazardous levels. The new standard for diesel vehicles, which will limit sulfur content to within 10 ppm is to be issued before June, still with a four-year grace period.

Soon, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Standardization Administration will release a transitional standard for automobile diesel with sulphuric content within 50 ppm, which will expire at the end of 2014.