Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is proposing that starting Jan. 1, all automotive fuel sold in the capital must meet at least the Euro-4 ecological standard.
"We have had gasoline and diesel of the category Euro-3 at Moscow filling stations for the past few years," Sobyanin said during a city government meeting this week, Interfax reported.
The mayor said that in his opinion, introducing Euro-4 as the new minimum will improve the city's ecological situation. He said the main difference between the two fuels is that Euro-4 contains three times less sulfur. The standard is stricter in the amount of benzene and hydrocarbons allowed.
"The Moscow Oil Refinery and other suppliers have the ability to switch to [making] this higher standard of fuel," Sobyanin said.
Vehicles are responsible for more than 90 percent of air pollution in the city, the mayor added.
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