Print Version
Home
About
Donors
Resources & Data
In the Regions
Meetings & Events
News & Success Stories
Publications
Related Links
Contact Us

   Quick Links


Clean Fuels and Vehicles Database

Partnership Newsletter

transport

[Issue 1 2011]

Regional Workshop on Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles for East Asia

7GPMA sub-regional workshop by the PCFV Clearing-House took place on 15 May 2009 in Pathumthani, Thailand. The workshop was arranged to coincide with a meeting of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) on 13 -14 May 2009. EANET countries comprise of Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam; all countries apart from Korea, Russia and Japan were represented at the two meetings. The EANET participants and some of the presenters joined the PCFV workshop and provided valuable contributions.

Facilitated by the Resource Centre from the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and hosted by the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, the workshop objective was to engage EANET countries to include clean fuels and vehicles as part of sustainable air quality management in the sub-region.

A wider consensus on air quality in the Asian region has been developing over the past few years. At the first governmental meeting on Urban Air Quality in Asia in December 2006 in Indonesia, a recommendation to “develop roadmaps for fuel quality and vehicle emission standards for new vehicles” to countries was made.

In November 2007, ASEAN countries through Resolution 16 ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Sustainability, Singapore agreed: “To intensify cooperation on the joint research, development and deployment of low emission technologies for the cleaner use of fossil fuels, recognizing that fossil fuels will continue to play a major role in our energy mix”.

On 16 January 2009 the Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport (MEET), which recognised the United Nations Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles initiative, made a ministerial Declaration stating in paragraph 9: “in addition to the aforementioned measures, we encourage countries to: (1) Review and strengthen, as necessary, their regulations on exhaust emissions from motor vehicles, railway locomotives and ships, both for new and in-use vehicles; and promote both low sulfur diesel and gasoline accordingly; (2) Strengthen international cooperation to develop and harmonize procedures for testing exhaust emissions through the UNECE/WP.29 and other regional or international fora; and (3) Work to incentivize the production and use of environmentally friendly vehicles (EFV) and clean fuels, and promote public transport. …”

Discussions at the sub-regional workshop built on these wider regional declarations. A consensus on the importance of low sulphur fuel was developed among the participants, who also raised some of the practical challenges to implementing such a recommendation. As part of the follow-up from the workshop, participants agreed to provide their colleagues with the information and learning they had acquired; copies of all the presentations were given, to facilitate this. The link between fuel quality and clean vehicles was made, as well as the significant health and environmental impacts.

Clean air programmes in EANET countries that include, as part of their strategic approaches, clean fuel and vehicle programmes will contribute greatly to improved urban air quality, as transport emissions make up a significant portion of air pollution. Reduction of sulphur level in diesel, coupled with the introduction of clean vehicle and cleaner technologies, along with a national fuel efficiency policy, are key measures within a clean air programme.

For more on PCFV activities in Asia see: http://www.unep.org/pcfv/regions/Asiapacific.asp

Meeting Documents

Presentations
   
© PCFV