Political will vital to clean up the city's air

JAKARTA (JP): Experts and an official said yesterday that only an effort of political will can clean up the city's air pollution by phasing out leaded gasoline.

Compared to other pollutants, the use of unleaded gasoline is a matter of policy, Nabiel Makarim, the deputy of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal) said.

Once the central government phases out leaded fuel, the air here will be free of lead in a relatively short time, Nabiel said.

"Bapedal would like to phase out leaded gasoline as fast as possible. But it's not our decision," he said after a press meeting with representatives from the Zurich-based Swiss Foundation for Technical Development Cooperation, or Swisscontact.

Other pollutants like smog, for instance, require constant inspection as well as a raising of consciousness among vehicle owners.

Members of Swisscontact, a private foundation working on urban environments, said banning leaded fuel could improve air quality by up to 40 percent within a year.

"There is no need to wait until 2004," David Kuper, the foundation's resident representative said.

Swisscontact, he said, plans to campaign here for unleaded gasoline, for which they have approached some government and city offices, including state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Pertamina officials told them that unleaded gasoline will be phased out by 2004 to allow time for the adjustment of refineries and other changes, Kuper said.

Meanwhile representatives of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association, Gaikindo, said they were ready to adjust engines as soon as the government imposes unleaded gasoline.

Another expert, Jurg Grutter, said introducing unleaded gasoline only as an additional option would be both inefficient and potentially counter-productive.

Last year Pertamina launched an unleaded gasoline called Super TT, priced at Rp 1,000 per liter.

Grutter, the director of ProEco, an environment group working with Swisscontact in San Salvador, said that leaded gasoline must be phased out as unleaded gasoline is introduced. "Most consumers will still buy regular gasoline, which is cheaper," he said, citing experience in Costa Rica.

The potential harm is largely caused by consumers who choose to buy regular gasoline when they feel they cannot afford the unleaded type, Grutter said. "The only way to clean air is to ban leaded fuel," Grutter said.

Dismissing fears of higher cost for the consumer, he stressed the gains arising from less maintenance costs.

Introducing catalytic converters, so far the only technology for vehicles to cut down pollutants, Grutter said, would be the next stage after widespread provision of unleaded fuel.

Banning leaded fuel would mean only polluters pay for the air pollution, instead of the general public, he said.

Nabiel said Bapedal and the Automotive Industry Association will require all manufacturers to publicly announce the emission standards of each make in the domestic media.

The Agency is also planning to test vehicle emissions in office building carparks. (anr)