Move to ban leaded gasoline gains support
Move to ban leaded gasoline gains support
JAKARTA (JP): The move to stop the use of leaded gasoline
gained further support on Thursday when a legislative commission
sanctioned it, a proposal will also be submitted to the
government by several non-governmental organizations in the hope
that it will be issued as a presidential decree.
The House of Representatives Commission VIII for science,
technology and the environment at a hearing with the Forum for
the Phasing Out of Leaded Gasoline, urged the government,
especially the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the
State Ministry for the Environment, to draw up both short and
long-term plans to make Jakarta leaded gasoline-free by June next
year and the whole country by January 2003.
Commission chairman Irwan Prayitno told The Jakarta Post,
after the two-hour hearing, that a ban on leaded gasoline was
urgently needed in the country.
"Other countries have outlawed leaded gasoline. Furthermore,
leaded gasoline aggravates air pollution in the country which is
poisoning our people," Irwan added.
It was the second visit by the forum to the House. The forum
had previously met with legislators from Commission VII for
population and welfare affairs.
Irwan, a member of the Reform Faction, also rejected a recent
government statement which said that the government was not able
to phase out leaded fuel at the present time as there were more
immediate demands on the state's limited resources.
"That's only an excuse. Actually there are many investors
ready to invest in this area, even with a marginal profit of 2 to
3 percent".
"The key here is the government's seriousness and the synergy
between the departments which are involved in implementing the
plan," he said.
During a workshop on leaded gasoline on Tuesday, Assistant to
the Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dipo Alam had said the
government was not able to put the plan into effect as its budget
was limited and there were no investors willing to finance the
scheme.
Dipo also said the government had to prioritize other public
needs such as the social safety net program.
The non-governmental organizations estimate that a nation-wide
conversion from leaded to unleaded fuel would cost between US$190
million and $230 million.
Achmad Syafrudin, chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the
Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), also remarked that
the government had not been serious about the matter.
Achmad underlined that leaded fuel was very harmful as it can
cause brain damage in children and mental disorders in adults.
He further claimed that the health costs from lead emissions
in Indonesia were estimated at $62.4 million per year.
He pointed out that air pollution in the capital had reached
alarming levels of between 0.2 and 1.8 micrograms per cubic
meter, while the World Health Organization had set a maximum
limit of 0.5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Achmad also said that the NGOs had completed drafting a
proposal on the banning of leaded fuel.
He claimed the proposal would soon be presented to the
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and
the State Secretariat for approval to be eventually adopted as a
presidential decree. (asa)