(BEIJING, June 6) -- In cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment and the Territory of Italy, Beijing plans to invest 100 million yuan (about 13 million US dollars) to set up a laboratory to monitor and study emissions of motor vehicles.

Beijing is expected to implement the China IV emission standard beginning early next year. When completed, the lab will be able to check if both new and existing vehicles abide by the relevant emission standards, Chinanews quoted an official of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau as saying on Tuesday.

The municipal government attaches great importance to the impact of pollution caused by the increasing numbers of motor vehicles (three million now). To cope with the problem, the city aims to use the state-of-the-art lab, the first of its kind in China's capital, to monitor the emissions of light gas and diesel vehicles, as well as to do research on technologies and policies to control vehicle emissions.