China’s southern island province of Hainan will ban the sale of gasoline-fueled automobiles by 2030, in a bid to safeguard its environment and develop a modern economy, the provincial government said. “The newly issued plan to promote new energy vehicles (NEVs) will be a key measure for Hainan to reach the goal of a first-class, quality ecology by 2035, as required by the central government,” said Deng Xiaogang, Director of the Ecological Environment Department of Hainan province. He said vehicle emissions top Hainan’s air pollutant list. Analysis of PM2.5 data from the provincial capital Haikou shows vehicle emissions contributed more than 35% to local air pollutants, while the average percentage reached 40% in other cities and counties.

“Hainan will introduce the most strict local standards to address the problem of vehicle emissions and make the island’s sky bluer,” Deng added. According to the Hainan New Energy Vehicles Development Plan, Hainan has set specific targets and outlined a road map, becoming the first province to unveil such a timeline. By 2020, all vehicles added or replaced in the public service sector, including government vehicles and buses, will use clean energy. Automobiles used for sanitation, tourist transport and urban-rural passenger transit will be replaced by clean energy vehicles by 2025, according to the plan. The proportion of new-energy private passenger cars will increase by 10% every year, eventually reaching 80% by 2025. Sales of gasoline-fueled automobiles will be banned throughout the province by 2030. By the end of 2018, Hainan had 37,100 clean energy vehicles, accounting for 2.9% of the province’s total vehicles.

“If gasoline-fueled vehicles are totally banned in Hainan, its PM2.5 index is expected to drop by 30% to less than 10 micrograms per cubic meter, about the same level as leading international tourist destinations such as Hawaii, the Maldives and Fiji,” said Xia Feng, Researcher with the China Institute for Reform and Development. He said the development of new energy vehicles will create huge investment opportunities and enhance local high-tech growth, the China Daily reports.