High gas prices earlier this year helped create one of the cleanest and least busy driving seasons in the United States in years. While economic conditions have since lowered the price of gas to more affordable levels, many sustainability advocates are calling for increased prices. But the most ambitious plan has come from an unexpected direction — Beijing.

Perhaps inspired by some of the cleanest air in years during the Olympic Games this past summer, Chinese authorities have imposed a 4 percent fuel surcharge at the pump. This marks a complete about face from the heavy gas subsidization that helped the world’s most populous nation reach its current status as an industrial titan.

Aside from reducing overall travel, along with the smog and congestion that inevitably follow automobile overuse, the measure also brings in significant income, which the government is using to fund refinement of gasoline to more stringent, less polluting standards adopted elsewhere in the developed world.

Because many expect the growing financial crisis to negatively impact fuel demands, the prices may be more palatable in the coming months as consumers — both in China and around the world — will see lower prices. Other nations might do well to implement similar programs while public acceptance is highest.