Cleaner fuel comes at a price in Beijing
The Beijing municipal authorities have raised pump prices by up to 4 percent to cover the cost of cleaner fuel.
From Tuesday, gasoline prices in Beijing have gone up by 200 yuan ($29.18) per ton, or more than 2 percent, with the quantum of the increase depending on fuel quality.
For example, gasoline 93, the most commonly used, now sells for 6.37 yuan (93 US cents) per liter, up 0.17 yuan from Monday. Gasoline 97 sells at 6.78 yuan per liter, up from 6.60 yuan.
Diesel pump prices rose 290 yuan per ton, around 4 percent.
The revisions are to help cover the cost of providing the city with cleaner but more expensive Euro-IV standard fuel, the Beijing municipal commission of development and reform said in a notice posted on its website (www.bjpc.gov.cn).
It promised to subsidize the agriculture, forestry, mass transit and taxi sectors to cushion the impact of higher prices.
Since the adoption of the Euro IV standards in the capital, there has been a notable improvement in air quality, the municipal government said.
The clearer skies during the Olympic Games were so popular with the city’s increasingly affluent and environmentally-aware residents that officials decided to roll out a permanent car control scheme (See story below).
They also aim to boost public transport and limit the number of new vehicles that hit clogged streets each year.
“Primarily, the price rise compensates the cost to the oil companies, but it also sends a strong message to private car owners: To burn clean oil for your private car in Beijing, you need to pay more,” Yang Fuqiang, chief representative of the US-based Energy Foundation in Beijing, told China Daily.
Private car owners, however, seem to be caught in a dilemma as they began to feel the pressure from the price they pay for cleaner air.
Tags: Gas, PetroChina, SinopecPages: 1 2
