Is Africa becoming the world’s dumping ground for dirty diesel vehicles?

Nairobi traffic

It’s debatable whether air quality was top class in many African cities before the arrival of these old diesels, but they aren’t doing much to improve it.

As emission regulations become stronger for new vehicles in industrialized countries, cars as old as 25 years no longer able to meet emission standards are being exported to Africa.

Air quality is suffering as a result, reports DW.com.

Any child playing at the Uhuru garden — a recreation park in the middle of the Kenyan capital Nairobi — is oblivious to the health dangers in the air around him or her. But that air is laden with toxic pollutants, which have become a leading cause of respiratory disease in Kenyan cities.

According to the World Health Organization, 15,000 children under five died each day in 2016 due to respiratory disease.

But the vehicles that contribute a large part of that pollution trace a long path to Africa.

As emission regulations become stricter in the European Union, Japan, and the United States, cars no longer able to meet current standards are exported to other regions, including Africa.

In Africa, 25 countries have placed a maximum age limit on used car imports. But due to weak enforcement, cars as old as 25 years are sold in Africa.

A recent report from New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment indicates that Germany and China account for 14 percent of car imports to Africa, while Japan and the US account for 15 percent.

As the population in African cities grows, unreliable public transport systems mean demand for cars is increasing. But low purchasing power, lack of stringent emission controls, and poor fuel quality have contributed to an influx of used cars that have been pushed out of industrialized countries by more stringent emission rules.

Dieselgate goes global

The Dieselgate scandal was unearthed in late 2015 when German automaker Volkswagen was found to have intentionally programmed its diesel engines to show lower-than-actual emission of pollutants.

Installed software allowed Volkswagen cars to meet the emission standards during laboratory testing. However, on the road, the same cars emitted up to 40 times more nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx), a major air pollutant.

In the wake of the Dieselgate scandal, the European Union introduced stringent measures to ensure cars comply with the EU emission standards.

Continued here.