Government agencies across the country will be required to purchase more "green" cars under a plan released yesterday that has been hailed as a big step forward in the fight against pollution and the promotion of the new-energy vehicle market.
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Under the plan, drawn up by five central government ministries and departments, at least 30 percent of all cars purchased for official use in the 2014-16 period must be new-energy. After 2016, the requirement will be increased year by year.
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New-energy vehicles include electric, plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell and solar-powered models, according to the plan.
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The document -- produced by the National Government Offices Administration (NGOA), the National Development and
Reform Commission, and the Ministries of Finance, Science and Technology, and Industry and Information Technology --applies also to government organs and public institutions in regions where controlling small particle emissions has become a challenging task in the fight against pollution, an NGOA spokesman said.
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For this year alone, at least 15 percent of the new vehicles bought for local government departments and public institutions located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta will be powered by new-energy sources, he said.
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To encourage the implementation of the plan, the central government has promised to subsidize all purchases of new-energy vehicles costing less than 180,000 CNY (29,000 USD) and has ordered local authorities to build more facilities to encourage their use among the public.Â