China to accelerate introduction of National Phase 5 standards nationwide

China’s State Council will accelerate the introduction of National Phase 5 automotive gasoline and diesel fuel emission standards nationwide by one year to 1 January 2017.

National Phase 5 emission standards mandate to lower sulphur content in automotive gasoline and diesel fuel to 10 parts per million (ppm), which is equivalent to the European Union (EU) standard called Euro 5.

All 11 provinces in eastern China will fast track the introduction further to 1 January 2016, the council said in a statement after an executive meeting chaired by China’s Premier Li Keqiang.

China initially mandated the nationwide implementation of National Phase 5 from January 2018. Some regions, like Beijing, adopted Phase 5 voluntarily as early as 2012 during the Summer Olympics.

National Phase 4- and Phase 5-compliant diesel fuel also will be available to the non-automotive sector from July 2017 and January 2018, respectively. Currently only National Phase 3-compliant diesel fuel, with a maximum sulphur content of 350 ppm, is available to the non-automotive sector.

Refinery upgrades to produce higher quality fuels nationwide are estimated at around CNY 68 billion (USD 11 billion).