China Will Scrap 5 Million Cars to Ease Pollution

China plans to eliminate more than 5 million aging cars from its streets in a bid to improve air quality, Reuters reports.

In a report outlining a plan to cut growing emissions over the next two years, published on Monday, the government said 5.3 million vehicles that don’t meet Chinese fuel standards would be removed from the road, including 330,000 in the smog-plagued capital, Beijing.

It’s not clear how the country will implement the plan, but in the past Beijing has offered subsidies of $400 to $2,300 to drivers who turn in their cars, according to Reuters.

The policy document published Monday, which also set new goals for reducing coal-fired heating systems and other emissions, said China was aiming to speed up cuts in carbon emissions as it looks to keep pace with a five-year plan to reduce emissions per unit of economic growth by 17% by 2015.

[Reuters]