[sustran] fwd - more debate over Delhi anti-diesel measures

[SUSTRAN Network Secretariat]

>From: "webadmin" <webadmin at cseindia.org>
>Organization: Centre for Science and Environment
>Date: Wed, 1 Mar 2000 18:15:17 +530
>Subject: What's new at CSE, India
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>A message from the Director, Anil Agarwal:
>Polluting politics
>
>DISINFORMATION and bad politics seem to go hand in hand. Now that the 
>Delhi government is showing that it is determined to fight growing air 
>pollution, a desperate effort seems to be on to try and confuse the issue 
>in the hope that action against polluters can be delayed, if not derailed. 
>The Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) has suddenly woken up to say 
>that the government's move to ban the registration of all commercial 
>vehicles, except those running on compressed natural gas (CNG), will 
>promote global warming. TERI scientists seem to have suddenly pulled this 
>out of their hat, much like a magician conjuring up a rabbit. 
>
>Of course, CNG being a gas with a high methane content is known to have 
>greenhouse gas potential. This is well-known and well-considered in public 
>policy. This is not to say that diesel, for which TERI obviously seems to 
>be lobbying, does not lead to global warming. In fact, there is increasing 
>evidence to show that diesel contributes in an equal measure to global 
>warming. It was a preferred fuel because of the alleged high efficiency of 
>diesel engines but the price differential and the lower costs of running 
>diesel cars has led to increasing usage and negates any advantage. 
>
>But the issue that TERI scientists seemed to have missed completely is 
>that diesel engines emit high quantities of particulate matter which are 
>extremely small and highly carcinogenic. Particulate pollution is the most 
>serious pollutant in Delhi. Pollution due to PM 10 particles - particles 
>with a diameter less than 10 microns - reached an astonishing 820 
>microgrammes per cubic metre on some days in the city's ambient air. This 
>is eight times higher than the national standard and possibly way above 
>anything recorded in any other city in the world. Mexico City, which is 
>widely considered as the most polluted in the world, has a smog alert 
>system. The authorities inform citizens about the state of the air on a 
>daily basis. If Delhi's particulate pollution levels are considered and 
>Mexico City rules imposed, the city would have a pollution emergency every 
>second day. In fact Delhi would have to close down for six months in the 
>year to make the air good enough to breathe. 
>
>Therefore an action plan to control particulate pollution becomes vital. 
>Curbs on diesel use become a must. Because of this, the Supreme Court in 
>1998 had ordered that all buses over eight years old should move to CNG 
>from April 1, 2000 and all buses should be running on CNG by March 2001. 
>The court is also hearing a case recommending a ban on private diesel cars 
>in Delhi, as the spiralling growth of these cheaper-to-run-vehicles of the 
>rich, has the potential to negate any clean up efforts by the public 
>transport sector. 
>
>The Delhi government long criticised for delaying the implementation of 
>these orders has finally decided to take a hard line. But no sooner does 
>it clear the proposal to register only buses, taxis and autorickshaws that 
>run on CNG from April 1, 2000, it is hit on the head. The timing is 
>amazing, simply because the decision to move public and commercial 
>transport to CNG had been taken almost two years ago. The Gas Authority of 
>India Limited has been busy setting up the infrastructure to provide the 
>city with CNG and everyone else, from the Supreme Court downwards, has 
>been pushing for the timely implementation of this crucial order. 
>
>The question now being asked is whether Delhi, which is suffering from 
>severe local air pollution, should first take steps to deal with global 
>pollution. This is absurd. It is important to note that India does not 
>have commitments under the climate change convention to take action to 
>reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is not to say that it should have 
>the right to pollute with impunity. Only that the convention clearly lays 
>down that those who have endangered the world's climate should be the 
>first to take action to reduce their emissions. We have seen precious 
>little of this till date. The Kyoto Protocol, signed in late 1997, lays 
>down commitments for the industrialised North to cut emissions but now the 
>richest and most polluting nations are trying to buy their way out of the 
>problem. They want to trade in cheap emission reductions from our part of 
>the world instead of taking action to cut emissions at home. 
>
>Secondly, there is the issue of priorities. In the grossly climate-
>unfriendly country like the US, states like New York and California were 
>faced with the choice of restricting diesel, that had less global warming 
>potential, against rising concerns over local air pollution. They clearly 
>stated that local health concerns had to take precedence over global 
>concerns. As a result both these states have programmes to induct more and 
>more CNG buses. Why then should Delhi citizens be treated differently? 
>
>TERI's conjuring act is a part of the automobile lobby's sustained efforts 
>to block the introduction of CNG in Delhi. It is, therefore, not 
>surprising that only a few months ago the director of TERI was quoted in 
>newspaper reports as arguing that burning of leaves by the poor and not 
>automobiles, was the cause of air pollution in Delhi. Given that a TATA 
>company - TELCO - is leading the diesel brigade, should we call this 
>connivance, or term it a coincidence?
>
>- Anil Agarwal 
>
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