Leaded gasoline permanently eradicated from the planet, a "major step"
"Lead Free 95" pumps from a service station on sale in Bambecque, in the north of France, on June 18, 2013. In France, service stations had until December 31, 2013 to upgrade and adapt to European Union regulations.
AFP - PHILIPPE HUGUEN
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Almost a century after the first alerts on its dangerousness for humans and the environment, leaded gasoline is permanently eradicated from the planet, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) announced on Monday.
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The Pnue has been campaigning for more than 20 years for the elimination of leaded petrol from disadvantaged countries.
Algeria, the last country to use this fuel, ran out of stocks in July.
It is a "
major step
" which should "
save more than 1.2 million premature deaths per year, increase IQ points in children and save more than 2,400 billion dollars
", welcomes the United Nations Program for the environment.
“
Finally
”, underlines the Pnue, because it has been known since 1924 that leaded gasoline is harmful to man and the environment.
This substance then claimed the lives of several workers at a refinery in New Jersey, United States.
Until 20 years ago, more than a hundred countries used leaded gasoline, with the exception of the United States, China and India.
But little by little, all the countries freed themselves from it.
But, adds the organization, it is absolutely necessary to reduce fossil fuels, in transport in particular, responsible for nearly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
And all the more so as a billion new vehicles, sometimes polluting them, will be put into circulation in the coming decades.
This announcement comes as the IPCC, a group of UN climate experts, has declared a "
red alert for humanity
", global warming proving to be more dangerous and even faster than expected.
►
To read also: Climate: warming is accelerating for the IPCC, "red alert" for humanity, according to the UN
A safer and cleaner fleet for Africa
If he is delighted with this definitive eradication of leaded gasoline, the former Minister of the Environment of Benin, Luc Gnacadja, who participated in the virtual press conference given this Monday by the Pnue, already sees more far for Africa: a safer and cleaner fleet.
“
Currently, used
vehicles imported into Africa
should instead be dismantled in most of the countries that export them.
They are of poor quality.
It is for this reason that urban pollution and the number of deaths in
road accidents
continue to increase in many African countries
.
It is even predicted that, in the next 20 years, the number of light vehicles in Africa will triple and the demand for oil will double. African governments are therefore considering adopting minimum standards to ensure that these vehicles meet environmental and safety requirements, some of which are known as the Euro 4.
This will lead to the phasing out of cars that are sometimes over thirty years old and the ban on the import of poor quality and highly polluting vehicles. The goal is to make the African car fleet 80% greener and reduce road accidents by 50%. I hope that this measure will be as successful as the phasing out of leaded gasoline.
"
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