green transportation: controlling obnoxious emissions · 2017-12-12 · national environmental...

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (NESREA)

11th NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS’ FORUM AND CELEBRATION OF NESREA @ 10

Green Transportation: Controlling Obnoxious Emissions

Presented by

Dr. A. A. RajiManaging Director/CEO Rabelat Nigeria Ltd

Rabelat House, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Introduction

• Transportation is one aspect we cannot do without in this day and age. The economic

development of entire regions depends on the easy access to people and goods ensured by

contemporary transport technology.

• More than 90% of transportation in Nigeria is done via the roads and more alarming is the

concentration of these vehicles in the cities.

• According to the National Bureau of Statistics, vehicle population in Nigeria as at first

quarter of 2017 is put at 11.46 million.

• Unfortunately, the current transport technology, particularly road transport is closely

associated with wide range of problems including global warming, environmental

degradation, health implications, and emission of greenhouse gases.

https://autojosh.com/vehicle-population-in-q1-2017/


Introduction Cont.

• In fact, the transport sector attributes to 23% of the globe’s greenhouse gas emission

resulting from burning of fossil fuels.

• Out of the total greenhouse gas emissions, road transport takes up a lion share, 75% to

be precise and this trend is projected to increase in the future if it continues unabated.

• The immediate and obvious solution to this wanton environmental pollution is greening

of the transport sector, which suggests any sort of transportation vehicle or

transportation habit that is environmentally friendly and doesn’t emit toxic gasses that

could impact the environment and human health.

• This leads to Green Transportation.

What is Green Transportation?

Green Transportation means any kind oftransportation practice or vehicle that iseco-friendly and does not have anynegative impact on the immediateenvironment.

What are the Green Transportation Options?

Electric Vehicles

• An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle powered by anelectric motor, instead of an internal combustionengine (ICE). It may be powered through a collectorsystem by electricity from off-vehicle sources, ormay be self-contained with a battery, solar panels oran electric generator to convert fuel to electricity.

• EVs are known as zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs)and are much environment friendly than gasoline-or LPG-powered vehicles.

• EVs are also far more energy efficient than gasolineengines and they are very quiet in operation.

The following are some options available for a green transportation:

Hybrid Vehicles

• Hybrid vehicles are the most commonvehicles offering ecological and greenliving benefits in the transportationniche. Hybrid cars may be partlyfossil fuel (or biofuel) powered andpartly electric or hydrogen-powered.

• Most combine an internal combustionengine with an electric engine, thoughother variations too exist.

• Hybrid would allow a vehicle tooperate on only batteries within anurban/polluted area, and then switchto its engine outside the urban area

Biofuel Transportation

• In recent years many major vehicle corporationshave moved to biofuel options. Biofuel usesvarious forms of fuel sources including palm oiland corn fuel sources.

• Biofuel is still a fairly new concept in themainstream form of transportation. Biofuel burnscleaner and is considered to be one of thecheapest options.

• While many promote biofuel as a way to create amore secure source of energy across the world,others voice concerns over negative implicationsfor food security.

• A primary concern voiced is that of agriculturalland once used to grow food crops instead beingused for the biofuels sector and food crops beingused as a source of biofuel rather than as food.

Cycling Options

• If you live in a smaller community andyour job or out of the house endeavorsrequire less than a 5 mile (8.05km) drive,then cycling may be a very viable optionfor your transportation needs.

• There are several issues and present consof this form transportation.

• However, cycling is considered to be oneof the most green transportation optionsdue to the fact that it does not use fuel,does not pollute the air and it is anecologically financially sound option forconsumers.

Issues with Current Road Transport System in Nigeria

• According to the FRSC, as at 2010, there wereapproximately 6.6 million registered vehiclesthat plied Nigerian roads.

• An estimated 9.8 million and 10.6 registeredvehicles were on Nigeria roads in 2015 and2016 respectively.

• The report from the National Bureau ofStatistics as at first quarter of 2017, revealedthat vehicle population in Nigeria is 11.46million with commercial vehicles accountingfor the largest share. Commercial vehiclesaccounts for 53.8%, private 44.5%,Government 1.6% and the remaining 0.1%goes to diplomatic vehicles.



Issues with Current Road Transport System in Nigeria Cont.

• The steady increase in vehicular populationposes threats to the environment and humanhealth. More worrisome is the fact that majorityof the vehicles used in the country are poorlymaintained and/or second hand (“tokunbo”) oneswith poor engine performance.

• These categories of vehicles are known to emithuge quantities of harmful air pollutants in theatmosphere, causing severe air pollution withtheir attendant environmental and healthconsequences.

• It is not uncommon to see some of these vehiclesply the roads with visible smoke from theirexhaust.

Obnoxious Emissions and Impact

• Hydrocarbons (HC): Hydrocarbon emissionsresult when fuel molecules in the engine do notburn or burn only partially. Hydrocarbons react inthe presence of nitrogen oxides and sunlight toform ground-level ozone, a major component ofsmog.

• Ozone irritates the eyes, damages the lungs, andaggravates respiratory problems.

• It is our most widespread and intractable urbanair pollution problem. A number of exhausthydrocarbons are also toxic, with the potential tocause cancer.

The following are obnoxious emissions from vehicles and their impact on health and environment:

Obnoxious Emissions and Impact Cont.

• Nitrogen oxides (NOx): Under thehigh pressure and temperatureconditions in an engine, nitrogen andoxygen atoms in the air react to formvarious nitrogen oxides, collectivelyknown as NOx.

• Nitrogen oxides, like hydrocarbons,are precursors to the formation ofozone.

• They also contribute to the formationof acid rain.

Obnoxious Emissions and Impact Cont.• Carbon monoxide (CO): Carbon

monoxide is a product of incomplete

combustion and occurs when carbon in

the fuel is partially oxidized rather than

fully oxidized to carbon dioxide.

• Carbon monoxide reduces the flow of

oxygen in the bloodstream and is

particularly dangerous to persons with

heart disease.

Obnoxious Emissions and Impact Cont.

• Carbon dioxide (CO2): In recentyears, the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency has started toview carbon dioxide, a product of"perfect" combustion, as a pollutionconcern.

• Carbon dioxide does not directlyimpair human health, but it is a"greenhouse gas" that traps theearth's heat and contributes to thepotential for global warming.

Recommendations for Controlling Obnoxious Emission

• Controlling obnoxious emission from the current road transport system is very practical

and can be achieved with focused planning with strategic targets in emission reduction

within few years.

• NESREA must be commended for taking the right steps in setting the national

framework for controlling emissions from petrol and diesel engines through the

gazetting of the National Environmental (Control of Vehicular Emission from Petrol and

Diesel Engines) Regulation 2011.

• Implementing the regulations is one of the sustainable ways of controlling vehicular

emissions in Nigeria.

Recommendations for Controlling Obnoxious Emission 1

• In line with the national regulations and moving forward,

• I wish to recommend the following as ways of checkingobnoxious emissions from vehicles in our environment:

•Enforce the regulation of the National Environmental(Control of Vehicular Emission from Petrol and DieselEngines) Regulation 2011.

•Quick win here includes the ban of the two stroke engineand enforcement of permissible limit for vehicularemission which NESREA has completed arrangement forvia the National Vehicular Emission Control Programme(NVECP).

Recommendations for Controlling Obnoxious Emission 1 Cont.

• The NVECP is designed to use automotivegas analyzers and opacimetre to analyzevehicular emissions and opacity levelsrespectively in accredited test Centresnationwide.

• The operation in these Centres shall beinternet-based.

• Vehicles in Nigeria will be required to gothrough the test to obtain emissioncertification which will be demanded byenforcement officers. You may visit theNESREA stand for more details


• Air quality monitoring stations should be established at locations close

to high traffic areas to provide real-time data of the condition of air

quality as well assess the effectiveness of the NVECP project of

NESREA.


• Public transit buses should be encouraged across our cities.

• The example of the Lagos state BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) should be replicatedby state governments in their urban areas.

• It is not enough to implement transit buses but it must be done in such a waythat it will attract the citizen’s patronage as observed with the Lagos experiencewhere the buses are comfortable, convenient and has dedicated lane.

• Public transit substantially reduces fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions,making it a wise public investment in a new, carbon-constrained economy.

• A typical passenger car carrying one person gets 25 passenger miles per gallon,while a conventional bus at its capacity of 70 (seated and standing) gets 163passenger miles per gallon.

• Transit buses are further enhanced by a growing number of alternative optionsknown as “green buses,” including electric hybrid, all-electric, and otheradvanced technologies.


• Support options of green transportation such as Hybrid vehicles, electric

vehicles etc. by providing policies/infrastructure to encourage usage

(provide incentives to encourage private investments in building electric

recharge stations for electric cars).

• Countries like the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway,

Sweden, Japan, Canada and China are embracing the use of Electric

vehicles (EVs).

• In fact, China is presently driving a policy that will see to the steady rise in

EVs manufacturing and usage.


• Present investment in rail transportation by government is commendable.

Government should remain focused and ensure more investment in this

direction with interest in Green train choices.

• This is because the use of rail is considered as one of the means by which we

can reduce transport related carbon emissions.

• Rail is the best performing land transport mode for large volumes of freight

and is three times more fuel efficient and produces three times less carbon

than road.


• Plant more trees to serve as carbon sink for obnoxious emission in theenvironment. Fees charged for emission test in the NVECP project shouldinclude some percentage reserved for tree planting.

• Based on study of FAO and UNEP, it has been estimated that the Asian forestabsorbed about 5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare each year.

• A Campaign for “every vehicle should own a tree to sink its emission” shouldbe led by NESREA and supported by all stakeholders.

• The State Government should be more committed to tree planting and forestsreserve projects.

• The private sector should consider more contribution with respect to treeplanting and other greening initiatives as a corporate social responsibility tocurb obnoxious emission in our air.

• More gardens should be seen in our cities.


• Strong modal shift towards public transport, walking and cycling is

needed, as technology alone cannot deliver the required changes in a short

time frame.

• Campaigns in this direction should be carried out by relevant government

agencies and the media.

• Modal shift will generate a number of benefits in terms of congestion,

health, accidents and cleaner air.


•More research towards zero-emission vehicles should

be supported by government.

•Nigerian researchers must join their counterpart in

Europe, America and Asia to accelerate the transition

towards low- and zero-emission vehicles.

Benefits of Migrating Towards Green Transportation

• Green transportation has wide ranging benefits: environmental,health, economic and individual budgets. Enlisted below are some ofthe key benefits of using green transportation:

• Fewer to no environmental pollution

• Shifting to green transportation would help rid the atmosphere of toxicgases since these modes of transportation have few to zero emissions.

• Saves you money

• Embracing green transportation modes like bicycles, multipleoccupant cars, and electric motorcycles will save you a lot of out-of-pockets costs related to buying fossils fuels at the pump.

Benefits of Migrating towards Green Transportation Cont.

• Contribute to building of a sustainable economy

• Manufacturing and distribution of green vehicles will go along with improvingexisting transport systems.

• This will lead to creation of more jobs in the transport sector, hence,minimizing social-economic disparities and building up a sustainable economy.

• It will also minimize over-reliance on fossil fuels, which drain an economy.

• Improved health

• The emissions produced by green vehicles are not harmful to human health, soembracing green transportation will only improve a country’s health status.

• There are many other benefits associated with green transportation which willenhance healthier lifestyle and improve quality of human life.

Conclusion

•We have established that the traditional transport system isnot good for our health and the environment.

•With over 11million vehicles on our roads and still counting itwill be near impossible to convert all the vehicles to green orimmediately stop their usage.

•However, as already provided in the NVECP project ofNESREA, we can achieve a near green system if we allsubject our vehicles to emission test and meet the prescribednational standards.

Conclusion

• I therefore call on all stakeholders to spread the message andencourage Nigerians to voluntarily comply when NVECP isImplemented.

•Meanwhile, I call on the Federal Ministry of Environment andthe National Automotive Council to take a study of theelectric and hybrid vehicles and see how it can fit in well in tothe Nigerian environment.

•Since this is the direction of most developed andindustrialized nations, Nigeria can take early advantage todevelop policies that will encourage usage as well attractmanufacturers to set up their plants here for the West Africanmarket.

THANK YOU

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