Guangdong slashing emissions

GUANGZHOU: Guangdong province will stop licensing vehicles that fail to meet the nation's stage III emission standard from July 1, according to a government statement released yesterday on its website.

The province also aims to introduce the more stringent stage IV emission standard for vehicle licensing in the highly developed and more polluted Pearl River Delta region, it said.

The province's environmental protection watchdog will soon reveal the categories of vehicles meeting the emission standards and the provincial government is already encouraging public transportation firms to meet higher emission standards ahead of schedule, it said.