WHEREVER you go in the world, it is the same! They are serial offenders, oblivious of their anti-social behaviour let alone apathetic to the serious health damage they cause.
They assume all shapes and sizes. They are the millions of drivers who insist on idling their vehicle engines — some for more than an hour — unleashing noxious emissions which are the bane of millions suffering from respiratory conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, emphysema and lung cancer.
The reality is that poor air quality affects all humans. As if the effect of petrol and diesel pollution and a host of other everyday pollutants such as cigarette smoke, aerosols, pesticides, household and industrial waste is not enough.
That is why the recent announcement by Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive officer of Volvo, that all its new cars from 2019 will be partially or completely electric and the report by the United Kingdom’s Public Health England and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence — calling for banning of idling of vehicle engines and on local councils to introduce strict “idling-free zones” are music to my ears and millions of fellow asthmatics and sufferers of respiratory conditions.
The decision by Hanoi City Council in Vietnam to ban motorcycles from its streets by 2030, hoping to reduce soaring levels of harmful PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) emissions, is courageous. Hanoi has five million motorcycles, whose number is increasing alarmingly. The council has also promised to increase public transport.
But, those millions of us with hypersensitivity to poor air quality are a pragmatic lot. We know that Samuelsson’s over-optimistic declaration that “marks the end of the solely internal combustion engine-powered car”, is a statement of intent.
But, will the above developments reinvent the global automotive industry to be fit for purpose for the 21st century — creating new technology jobs and generating clean air?
Initially, they may impact in core Scandinavian markets. But, globally, it would require a monumental mindset change of politicians through creative and transparent public policies, vehicle manufacturers, the driving public — both company and private ones, laypersons who live and work in towns and cities, and air quality activists. This is easier said than done.
Oil giants, carmakers, private medical groups and the car insurance sector are powerful lobbyists who often are bedfellows with vested interests in politics.
Hats off to London’s Westminster Council, which has marshals handing out £80 (RM448) fines to car idlers. The borough, however, has one of the most unequal parking charges regimes, which favours rich residents.
The UK is struggling to meet air quality limits set by the European Union, with 37 of 43 UK regions in breach of nitrogen dioxide emission limits. Ministers are legally bound to achieve these limits, but their officials are past masters at prevarication, with the result activists are forced to take the government to court over its plans for tackling air pollution.
The British Lung Foundation confirms that air pollution is poisonous and welcomes the recommendations to introduce no-vehicle-idling areas and clean air zones in the most polluted towns and cities. The number of deaths directly linked to poor air quality in the UK is about 40,000 per year — a staggering price to pay for any country.
As a frequent traveller, I can vouch that the problem is universal especially in densely populated urban conurbations. At Doha International Airport, where I once changed planes en route to Malaysia, we were ferried by bus to the waiting plane on the tarmac. We were subjected to waiting for 45 minutes in the bus with the engine running, the doors open and the overpowering stench of diesel and aviation fuel combined with humidity.
Outside the Chest and Allergy Clinic at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, central London, ambulances waiting to transport outpatients home, National Health Service’s delivery vans, taxis waiting to ferry passengers home after appointments and car drivers dropping off or collecting outpatients idle their car engines with impunity sometimes for over an hour.
In inner city London, some of the worst persistent offenders are mothers in their SUVs waiting to pick up children from school. They are now easy targets for councils ostensibly to reduce emissions but also as a new revenue stream from the fines levied. The list is endless.
How ironic that Volvo, owned by Chinese carmaker Geely, is going electric in Europe when Beijing after Delhi in India are the two most polluted cities on earth. The good news is that other carmakers — Renault-Nissan, BMW and VW — have declared electric car ambitions.
The VW dieselgate emissions scandal gave added impetus for companies to focus on electric and hybrid cars, as politicians and campaigners increasingly blamed diesel for poor air quality. The breakthrough for electric vehicles is projected around 2025 when they are expected to outcompete petrol and diesel cars.
China is the largest market for electric vehicles and could play a vital role in mainstreaming them and having a knock-on effect elsewhere. Despite President Donald Trump’s opt-out, the success of the Paris Climate Accord is driving a progressive tightening of vehicle CO2 emissions limits around the world, inevitably leading to a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels. Electric and hybrid cars such as Toyota and Tesla are enjoying encouraging sales, which is drawing in other major manufacturers.
Electric vehicles are not a panacea. Together with e-bikes, electric scooters, trains and trams, the appropriate air quality policy commitment and enforcement including idle-free zones, they will provide the opportunity for a future with cleaner and greener mobility. The World Health Organisation says three million deaths every year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution.
The writer is an independent
London-based economist and writer.