In this newsletter, we shall investigate if the car fleet age could be a limiting factor for transport policy effectiveness, especially relating to fuel and emissions specifications. We will compare developed and less developed economies in Asia and further compare their respective results with the situation in the European Union and in China – referencing them as international benchmarks.
After an extensive review process, members of the Worldwide Fuel Charter committee are poised to publish the fifth edition of the charter, which will change its fuel-quality recommendations for the first time since 2006.
Despite serving a diverse array of people and places, Indochina's transportation sector has some shared characteristics. For one thing, the most common passenger vehicle in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar runs on two-wheels, not four.
Size does matter in the case of pollutants. The smallest airborne particulates present some of the biggest challenges to public health, particularly in Asia. As a result these particles are beginning to attract increasing attention and efforts are underway to minimise their impact.
Indonesia's economic boom in bringing a host of challenges to the largest economy in Southeast Asia. Evidence of that economic expansion can be seen in car sales. These are expected to reach almost a million units in 2012, up 11% from 894,000 units in 2011, according to the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (GAIKINDO).
The Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) started as a project of Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2001 and grew into a standalone non-governmental organization (NGO).
In March, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presented a report entitled "OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction" to the environment ministers of its member countries and key emerging economies. OECD experts peered 40 years into the future and asked what the world would look like, if current trends continue.
Fuel quality in the Middle East varies radically from one country to the next, and obstacles to cleaner fuels range from a lack of awareness, urgency and political will to a lack of modern refineries and coordination.
Malaysia had more than 21 million registered cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses and commercial vehicles on its roads last year. According to the Petaling Jaya-based Malaysian Automotive Association, the country added about 600,000 vehicles in 2011, with passenger cars accounting for 89% of the increase. That surge caps a seven-year span that saw about a half million new cars and trucks registered every year.
Before advanced automotive technologies and tougher anti-pollution regulations can have an impact in emerging countries, fuel quality must be addressed, and oil companies must share the responsibility, according to the world's leading automobile manufacturers.
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