In December 2022, Tsinghua University, in collaboration with institutions including the Chinese Academy of Environmental Sciences, and with support from Energy Foundation China, jointly released A Retrospective and Prospective Study on 20 Years’ Mobile Source Emissions Control in Megacities of China. The report was led by an expert advisory group chaired by HAO Jiming—an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an international member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE)—and Michael Walsh—Founding Chair of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

The report reviews the efforts made by China in the past two decades to address motor vehicle emissions. Using Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu as representative cities, the report outlines their practices in tackling motor vehicle pollution. Beijing has pioneered an integrated “vehicle-fuel-traffic” emission control system. Shanghai has promoted public transport systems and diversifying transport energy. Shenzhen has promoted new energy vehicles and established a comprehensive industrial layout. Chengdu has developed a big-data intelligent transportation system that promotes precise emission control. The experiences of these four cities offer valuable insights for other cities exploring the path toward cleaner transportation and transitioning to zero-emission transport.

The report points out that as China's economy continues to grow, the number of motor vehicles will keep rising, and building an efficient and sustainable zero emission transportation system is the core challenge for the future development of road transportation in China.