To curb growing vehicular emissions and poor air quality in Indian cities, environmentalists have called for immediate implementation of vehicular emission norms and improvement of fuel quality.
Participating in a workshop organised earlier this week by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in collaboration with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), participants discussed the roadmap to control emissions and improve efficiency in the transport sector. The workshop titled ‘Reducing Vehicular Emissions and Improving Fuel Efficiency’ was supported by the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.
TERI Director-Deneral Dr. R.K. Pachauri said: “Motor vehicles have provided human society with a convenient and almost ubiquitous opportunity to travel anywhere at will. However, with the unconstrained growth of motor vehicles in recent years these have become a major source of pollution, which not only affects air quality adversely wherever vehicles ply but also add to emissions of greenhouse gases at the global level. Reducing vehicular emissions and improving fuel efficiency are essential directions for India to take with a sense of urgency. This workshop, which involves scientists and experts from other countries, would help develop a roadmap for India by which the negative impacts of vehicular transportation can be limited.”
Stating that India is rapidly motorising and this was resulting in the increase in criteria pollutants like PM 2.5 and NOX, which have an adverse impact on human health especially of the vulnerable who are most exposed to vehicular pollution, TERI fellow Mr. S. Sundar noted: “It also perpetuates our dependence on oil imports, raising concerns about our energy security. We cannot become a modern automobile nation merely by producing a variety of modern vehicles. We need to ensure that our vehicles, not only when new but also when in use, conform to the prescribed emission standards and are fuel efficient.”
Experts at the workshop agreed that India should immediately move towards Euro VI norms once 10 PPM ultra-low sulphur fuel is available. The workshop assumed significance in the wake of the Auto Fuel Vision Committee developing a roadmap for further advancement of vehicular emissions and fuel quality norms, and has now come up with a report.
