Zhongguancun Air Pollution Control and Prevention Association was established in Beijing on Oct 14 with the aim of persuading the owners of private cars to reduce their gas emissions, Science and Technology Daily reported.

The Association was initiated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, high-tech automobile environmental protection enterprises, and famous universities and research institutes. It has attracted many social organizations and enterprises.

It hopes to promote effective methods of pollution reduction. The Association will also offer technical support and suggestions to the government and help China to improve the industrial chain for air pollution control and market environment.

According to the 2013 Annual Report on Motor Vehicle Pollution Control, the gas emissions from vehicles accounted for more than 60 percent of the air pollution by the end of 2012, becoming the major source of haze.

"Few owners of automobiles are fully aware of how much gas their cars may emit. The gas emissions from highly-polluting cars is about 5-10 times that of the friendly-environment cars," said Yan Ziqing, vice director of the Committee of Vehicle Emission Control.

In recent years, cities in northern China have often suffered from haze in winter. This directly harms the health of local residents. These cities have carried out some measures such as restricting the numbers of cars and upgrading oil quality to reduce pollution.

But it doesn't seem to solve the problem.

"The most important way to deal with the haze problem is by reducing gas emissions. We should calculate and set a ceiling for the gas emissions of cars. Even highly-polluting cars may emit much less after renovation," Yan added.

Edited by Brian Salter, Xu Lili