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Clifford Coonan

397 days to go

Beijing's Olympic organisers are taking aim at the automobile in the latest effort to ensure clear skies for the games.

Fearful that smog could spoil the sporting events that are due to begin at 8pm on the eighth day of the eighth month in 2008, the plan is to withdraw one million cars from the city's streets next month in an experiment to see if it reduces pollution.

While the construction of Olympic venues continues on schedule, more or less, air quality has emerged as a potentially grave issue for the Beijing organising committee and cars are seen as serious culprits. Beijing had poor air quality for 15 days last month, the highest June total since 2000, according to the capital's Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection.

The smog is made up of ozone, which stems largely from vehicle exhaust fumes, and fine dust from coal-powered plants and factories. At times, the amount of air pollution is up to three times the maximum levels permitted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Already this month has seen a couple of eye-stingingly smoggy days in Beijing and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed fears about Beijing pollution affecting athletes' health during the games. Beijing's plans to try and redress these grim statistics include measures to replace about 50,000 old bangers and 10,000 crocked buses by the end of the year as well as to renovate 16,000 coal-burning factories. The IOC sounded a cautiously positive response. 'Concerns within the IOC executive board were eased,' IOC director of communications Giselle Davies said after receiving a progress report.

'They have a plan from August 7 to 20 this year: one million cars off the road.'

There were 148 million  vehicles  on the mainland's roads by the end of March and the number is rising by 1,000 cars a day in the capital alone. By the time the games begin,  there are expected to be 3.5 million cars in Beijing.  The first major consumer goods many Chinese people buy when their incomes improve is a car and auto ownership is seen as one of the pillars of growth. 'Obviously the test events provide an excellent opportunity to try out contingency measures that may be used if necessary at the games,' said Davies.

Organisers are also trying several other plans designed to prepare the city for the Olympics.

The government increased car taxes last Sunday for the first time since 1986 to a maximum of 660 yuan a year from 320 yuan, according to tax authorities. In Beijing  the tax has increased to 480 yuan from 200 yuan.

Anxiety over the scale of the mainland's pollution woes was compounded by reports that Chinese officials forced the World Bank to censor a report on pollution, which said 750,000 people die of pollution-related illness each year, for fear of stoking social unrest.

The Financial Times newspaper quoted a World Bank report, produced in co-operation with Chinese government ministries over several years, which found that over three-quarters of a million die prematurely each year, mainly from air pollution in large cities.

For its part, the World Bank said the study, Cost of Pollution in China: Economic Estimates of Physical Damages, had yet to be finalised and what had been released was a conference version.

Pollution has worsened as China's economic boom has fuelled increased energy consumption.

China has made major efforts to slow pollution but the sheer momentum of economic growth in what is rapidly becoming the world's factory means officials face an uphill struggle.

The World Bank is also concerned by indoor air pollution, which kills 300,000 Chinese a year prematurely.

The World Bank previously reported that 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities were in China. Beijing has promised to cut emissions of major pollutants by 10 per cent between 2006 and 2010 but failed last year to meet the annual target.

While pollution remains a problem, there are at least signs of an improvement in road safety. China's are still the world's deadliest roads, claiming 200 lives a day, but things are getting better as car and road quality improves.

Road accidents killed 37,000 people in the first half of this year, or more than 200 lives a day, Xinhua reported.

While still a huge figure, it is a 12.2 per cent drop from the same period last year and the number of accidents fell nearly 17 per cent in the same period.

Dealing with the curse of cars

1 There were 148 million vehicles on the mainland's road by the end of March

2 The number of new cars in the capital  is rising by 1,000 a day and there are expected to be 3.5 million cars by the time of the Olympics

3 Road accidents killed 37,000 people in the first half of this year, or more than 200 lives a day, a 12.2 per cent drop on a year earlier

4 The number of accidents fell by 17 per cent to 159,000 in the first six months of the year

5 Beijing promised to cut emissions of major pollutants by 10 per cent between 2006 and 2010 but failed last year to meet the annual target



Vehicle vanishing act may be solution to pollution