Workshop participants in a photocall.
KUCHING: According to studies, more than 90 per cent of the about 400 cities surveyed in Asia recorded air pollution level that exceed the World Health Organisation guideline, says Clean Air Asia deputy executive director Glynda Bathan.
She said this on the sidelines of the Second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) workshop on ‘Policy Dialogue on Fuel Economy Platform’ during the Better Air Quality Conference 2018 held at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here yesterday
“We see most of the pollution occur largely in Asian cities where there is a very high motorisation rate,” she added.
United Nations Environment Programme Air Quality and Mobility Unit programme officer Bert Fabian concurred, saying that “up to 80 per cent of air pollution (in big cities) can be sourced from the transport sector.
“It is essential for countries to learn from each other because some countries in the region already have effective policies to address fuel efficiency in the transport sector,” said GIZ Thailand/Asean sustainable transport deputy director Friedel Sehlleier.
He said Malaysia could still learn a lot from other parts of the world and also from neighbouring countries despite making progress in addressing fuel efficiency in the transport sector.
On the challenge faced in promoting better fuel efficiency, Fabian said that getting the stakeholders onboard was crucial in order to have a real and concrete discussion with the private sector to produce better fuel-efficiency vehicles.
Such stand was also agreed by head of Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC), Dr Nuwong Chollacoop.
Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) chief executive officer Dato Madani Sahari appealed to all countries to work together towards lowering carbon footprint and exhaust emission besides promoting better source of energy within the transport sector.
“One country cannot sustain itself in terms of environment (sustainability) if neighbouring countries are polluting the environment.”
The workshop also saw MAI updating members of the global community on Malaysia’s initiative on fuel economy development in line with the global initiatives by Global Fuel Economy Initiative.
The National Emission Test Centre (NETC) in Rawang, Selangor will be a full-fledged vehicle emissions testing facility in Malaysia, which will be operated by MAI.
(From left) Fabian, Madani and Glyndan at the press conference.