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Indonesia may ban sale of new
cars to check air pollution
BY OUR AUTOMOBILES CORRESPONDENT
April 19, 2007: The Government of
Indonesia is considering a moratorium
on the sale of new cars in the country
as part of a national programme to
start cutting air pollution in the
country’s fast-growing cities.
Data available with the administration
at Jakarta, capital of Indonesia,
shows that today there are over 2.5
million private cars and 3.8 million
motorcycles in the city. However,
public transportation vehicles number
only 255,000.
Private car ownership, the data shows,
will rise by at least 11% a year.
The new anti-pollution programme,
announced by Indonesia’s Minister for
Environment Rachmat Witoelar, will
rank cities based on air quality.
According to Rachmat Witoelar,
Indonesia had introduced emission
standards based on the Euro2
guidelines released in 1995. If the
country does not take further action,
he adds, the numbers of cars and
motorcycles will exceed Indonesia’s
population and this indeed is a very
dangerous trend.
Indonesia has no policy regulating the
maximum age of cars allowed on the
road. Nor does it show any signs of
implementing sustainable
transportation in cities, Rachmat
Witoelar said.
A transportation expert from the
Bandung Institute of Technology says
that most cities in Indonesia set
aside less than 5% of their total area
for roads and transportation, compared
to 28% set aside by Washington, D.C.
This makes Indonesia’s traffic
congestion chronic and, in turn,
produces higher toxic air pollution.
In Indonesia, Jakarta is the only city
that allocates 9% of its area for
street facilities and the city is one
of the main targets for Environment
Minister Rachmat Witoelar’s new
programme.
According to transportation experts,
cities with a population of over 1
million must allocate up to 30% of
their area for street facilities to
help reduce traffic.
Jakarta suffers economic losses of up
to Rp 5 trillion every year because of
air pollution-caused illnesses.
The unhappy effects of a moratorium on
the sale of new cars would include
thousands of Indonesians losing their
jobs. But, says Minister Witoelar,
pollution from transportation is doing
more damage in terms of global warming
than emissions from Indonesia’s
factories.
The Minister’s plan, which will
encourage Jakarta's local authorities
to promote public transportation, will
also grade Indonesia’s cities based on
their air pollution.
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