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* China - Quietly shelves new diesel emission standards
The government has quietly postponed plans to clean the fumes from truck and bus exhaust pipes
(Photograph: Alexander F. Yuan/AP - The Beijing-Zhangjiakou highway in China's Hebei province)
London,EN,UK -The Guardian, by Jonathan Watts -1 February 2012: -- It ought to have been a centrepiece of China's efforts to reduce smog, but the government has quietly postponed plans to clean the fumes from truck and bus exhaust pipes... The 18-month delay of new diesel emission standards, which was announced this month, runs contrary to the authorities' promises to tighten controls on air pollution... Environmental scientists say the move shows public health concerns remain far less of a priority for China's leaders than the economic interests of state-owned petrol companies, PetroChina and Sinopec... It was not supposed to be this way. China is trying to shake the notoriously filthy hazes that envelop many of its cities and result in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year... This is crucial because traffic – particularly heavy trucks that burn diesel – is increasingly more significant than coal burning as a source of air pollution. Studies suggest vehicle exhaust pipes contribute more than 70% of the nitrogen oxides in downtown Beijing and are the dominant source of roadside PM2.5 levels – and the biggest threat to health...Labels: air pollution debates, trucks' pollution
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