India introduces Euro-IV fuel to 13 cities

India's Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, has commissioned the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's Euro-IV compliant oil refinery as part of the national target to implement Euro IV-compliant fuel in 13 major cities from April and upgrade the rest of the country’s fuel standards to Euro-III from Euro-II specifications. By bringing in tighter fuel criteria to improve air quality, India expects to 'leapfrog'  China, which started using a Euro III-like norm for petrol from 1 january with a Euro III diesel equivalent set to become a national mandate from June 2011.

“The Prime Minister and the government of India is committed to introducing mandatory fuel efficiency standards measured in terms of ‘kmpl’, which is kilometres per litre, or in terms of CO2 emission which is what the European countries are looking towards,” Ramesh said, as quoted by ANI.

He added that a Comprehensive Environmental Assessment had been carried out throughout the country which found that 88 industrial clusters were found critically polluted.

"In a place like Bhatinda where there is a critically polluted industrial cluster, the number of cancer patients is a very high. Where the environment is polluted beyond a certain level, it has caused health hazards for the inhabitants of the area. Although today in India, transport emission forms 7-8% of the Green House Gases but keeping in view the rapid growth in transport sector, there is urgent need to provide clean fuel at affordable price, he said.

Air pollution and Philippines energy policies

The JARI-Philippines Roundtable (RT) 2010 will bring together policy makers, researchers and the industry from the Philippines and Japan on 5 February 2010 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Makati City, Metro Manila.

Hosted by the Japan Automobile Research Institute (JARI), in cooperation with the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP), Philippine Automotive Federation Inc (PAFI) and the Center for Automotive Technology Corp (CATC), the event will provide an opportunity for meeting to discuss and exchange information and opinions in relation to solving the environment and energy problems arising from motorization.

Focussing on “Air pollution reduction and energy policies in Philippines”, discussiuons will cover the introduction of EURO 2/EURO4,  fuels policies,  environment and traffic management, vehicles and fuel and perspectives on the automobile sector.

Participation is free but limited to 100 delegates. The registration date is 25 January 2010. Download the document or email jarirt09@jari.or.jp for further details.

Cities in developing world dominate transport award

The developing world is leapfrogging developed countries when it comes to urban transport, with the city of Ahmedabad, India, announced as winner of the 2010 Sustainable Transport Award for the successful implementation of Janmarg, India's first full bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

"This year's Sustainable Transport Award nominees demonstrate the relevance of the developing world in the fight against climate change while improving citizen's quality of life and enhancing their international competitiveness," said Walter Hook, Executive Director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. "Cities have the power to significantly reduce carbon emissions by actively seeking ways to improve transport."

The Sustainable Transport Award is given annually to a city that uses transport innovations to increase mobility for all residents, while reducing transportation greenhouse and air pollution emissions and increasing cyclist and pedestrian safety and access.

Ahmedabad's Janmarg BRT system is a sustainable model for the future of transportation in India, where a quarter of the world's population lives. "BRT systems can positively impact air quality if car and motorbike drivers start taking trips by bus," said Sophie Punte, Executive Director of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-ASIA). "This is particularly important in Asian cities, where air pollution levels are often far above guidelines of the World Health Organization."

For the first time in the six-year history of the Sustainable Transport Award, all of the nominees are cities in developing nations.

The four honorable mentions went to Cali, Colombia, for transforming citywide BRT service with MIO; Curitiba, Brazil, for opening a new BRT line and city park on a former federal highway; Guadalajara, Mexico, for completing a full BRT system in less than two years and at an affordable cost; and Johannesburg, South Africa, for creating Rea Vaya, Africa's first BRT and the first public transit system that connects Soweto to the downtown district.

Vehicular Air Pollution Information System

The Vehicular Air Pollution Information System (VAPIS) is an user-friendly MS EXCEL based tool, designed to quickly analyze the emission trends for a single vehicular category for a single pollutant. The tool allows the user to start with the basic information on vehicular numbers, growth rates, age splits, kilometers traveled per day, average retirement age, and emission factors, and establish the vehicular number and emission trends for a period of 30 years, by age group.

Download the VAPIS 1.01 tool, brochure, operational manual, and the working paper (SIM 02-2008) on four ways to build vehicular emissions inventory.

Indian auto growth drives focus on cleaner technologies

Emphasising the need for governance and reforms in the automotive sector, India's Transport minister, Kamal Nath, said his ministry is carrying out a comprehensive review of the Motor Vehicles Act. "The last decade was the decade of IT. This would be the decade of Infrastructure," he said at the 10th Auto Expo in Pragati Maidan.

While complimenting India's automotive industry for its entrepreneurial and leadership spirit, the minister pointed out that an 8% GDP growth meant greater stress on infrastructure. "The biggest deficit in the country today is in the infrastructure sector and roads are at the heart of it," he added.

Speaking at the occasion, Vilasrao Deshmukh, minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, said the Indian government is committed to creating a world class automobile industry. He said his ministry had taken measures to bridge the skill gap, set up a technology development fund for the auto sector, facilitate adoption of cleaner technologies and promote linkages between global and Indian industry.

Elaborating on the tremendous progress made by India's auto industry, Venu Srinivasan, president, Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII), said, "In 2008-09, 1.82 million cars and 8.4 million two-wheelers were sold with an aggregate vehicle sale of over 11 million." He said Indian industry had fared better than the global automotive majors despite the downturn. "Driven by our own robust internal demand and an effective government stimulus package, the automotive industry even managed to grow during 2008-09," he added.

"India can emerge as a hub for the international automobile industry, especially in the Asian region. New product development is fast, appropriate and accurate. India is rapidly progressing as a centre for clean auto technologies as well, developing hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles and exploring new sources of fuel," he told the Mail Today.

Pawan Goenka, president, Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers, mentioned that growth with greater responsibility towards reducing emissions and enhanced road safety will be essential for achieving the further growth trajectories.

Indonesian city introduces cleaner mini-buses

Indonesia's second largest city, Surabaya, will introduce a new fleet of environment-friendly three-wheeled minivans by 2011. The chief of the Surabaya Planning Agency, Tri Rismaharini, told The Jakarta Globe, that the vechicles replacing old, seven-passenger minivans locally known as bemo, will include an “air-conditioned space for passengers and the use of natural gas to power the vehicles.”

He added that the new bemo will serve as part of a feeder system for Surabaya’s transportation network and will only be used on smaller roads measuring not more than nine meters in width. He said the municipal administration was still considering whether the new bemo will be run by the government or left to the private sector.

Chinese city's buses to go 'green'

Qingdao,  a major city in China's eastern Shandong province, plans to renovate 1,208 public buses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions next year Song Chunkang, director of the municipal Environmental Protection Agency, told China Daily.

Existing buses will be converted to low-carbon emission operations through technological innovation, with a total investment of over 500 million yuan by the local government, Song said.