Pertamina under fire on unleaded gasoline<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An environmental group criticized state-owned
\noil company Pertamina yesterday for lacking a commitment to
\nunleaded gasoline, and blamed public ignorance of its benefits on
\nthis.<\/p>\n
Chairwoman of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi)
\nEmmy Hafild said that Pertamina had a major role to play in
\npromoting the use of unleaded gasoline, but that the company had
\nfailed to act as it should.<\/p>\n
\"If Pertamina is really committed to making people use
\nunleaded gasoline, they should not set Super TT prices higher
\nthan regular fuel,\" Emmy told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Pertamina sells unleaded gasoline, under the brand name Super
\nTT, for Rp 975 (32 U.S. cents) per liter, and leaded fuel for Rp
\n850.<\/p>\n
\"If unleaded gasoline is more expensive than leaded, how will
\nthe average person be interested in using it?\" Emmy said.<\/p>\n
\"Air pollution here has reached a critical level,\" she said.
\n\"In my opinion, leaded gasoline should no longer be produced.\"<\/p>\n
A survey released Tuesday showed widespread ignorance among
\nJakarta car drivers and motorcycle riders of the environmental
\nfriendliness of unleaded fuel.<\/p>\n
The survey, conducted by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation
\nin cooperation with Swisscontact, a private foundation working to
\nimprove urban environments, found that while many respondents
\nknew about the harmful effects of leaded fuel, 64 percent of 600
\nrespondents knew almost nothing about the benefits of using
\nunleaded fuel.<\/p>\n
Unleaded gasoline produces less air pollution than traditional
\nfuel and can have a major impact on improving air quality.<\/p>\n
A member of Swisscontact said here last year that banning
\nleaded fuel could improve the city's air quality by up to 40
\npercent within a year.<\/p>\n
Last year Pertamina supplied only 50,000 liters of unleaded
\ngasoline to Jakarta's 2.5 million vehicles.<\/p>\n
Emmy said yesterday that as well as cutting the price of
\nunleaded fuel, Pertamina should increase the number of gas
\nstations selling it.<\/p>\n
\"How can we urge people to use unleaded gasoline when there
\nare so few gas stations offering it?\" Emmy said.<\/p>\n
She said she had been unable find a gas station in the South
\nJakarta area selling it.<\/p>\n
Emmy said the media should give more space to environmental
\nissues, including the need to use unleaded gasoline.<\/p>\n
\"Environmental news is given little space, and rarely on the
\nfront page,\" Emmy said. \"This does little to improve people's
\nawareness of the environment.\"<\/p>\n
She said environmental organizations could not do much to
\nimprove people's awareness by themselves because they had limited
\nfunds and resources.<\/p>\n
She said Walhi, for example, \"only has funds to produce
\nthousands of stickers, but Jakarta has millions of people.\"<\/p>\n
What was needed, Emmy said, \"are large repeat ads on
\ntelevision to make people take note of environmental issues.\"<\/p>\n
Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana said in March that
\nleaded gasoline would be phased out and be banned in 1999. (ste)<\/p>",
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