China’s capital city is doing something huge about its perennial pollution issue.
Almost 70,000 petrol powered taxis in Beijing will gradually be replaced with electric vehicles, and any new taxis on the road must be electric, according to a report by the National Business Daily. The project to replace all the current petrol powered cars is estimated to cost taxi operators $1.3 billion (9 billion yuan). Some 67,000 of Beijing’s 71,000 taxis currently run on petrol.  A conventional car is estimated to cost around $10,000, with an electric vehicle double that amount, at $20,000. Electric cars have a smaller carbon footprint than conventional cars, which would help reduce CO2 emissions in Beijing.