Example of a Low-Emission Zone – Beijing

In Beijing, the transport sector is the leading source of pollution. More than 50 percent of vehicle emissions come from heavy freight vehicles, which represent less than 10 percent of total vehicles on the road in that city.

With support from WRI, Beijing in 2017 created a low-emission zone that prohibited heavy freight vehicles. The zone was later extended to the whole city and stricter emission standards were introduced in 2019.

In the first two years, Beijing‘s low-emission zone is expected to reduce emissions by 11 metric tons of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter each day. With stricter regulations, it could eliminate up to 95 metric tons of the total air pollutants daily and potentially abate 2.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2020.

Following Beijing’s model, Chinese cities like Tangshan, Linfen and Fuxin also implemented LEZ’s.

Video explaining the process of planning and implementation of the low-emission zone. Video by WRI China.