Vehicle emission standards to be delayed again

Vehicle emission standards to be delayed again

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The dream of achieving cleaner air in Jakarta is still months
from reality, as the government has yet to complete the revision
of its 10-year-old, outdated national standard for vehicle
emissions.

The revision is expected to be finished and come into effect
in September, meaning all motorists are obliged to pass the
emission test to renew their vehicle registration documents.

Assistant deputy for vehicle emissions at the Office of the
State Minister of the Environment Ridwan Tamin said on Thursday
that the ongoing revision of Ministerial Decree No. 35/1993 on
vehicle emission standards was scheduled to be completed by the
end of this year.

"We are still discussing it (the revision) with automotive
experts and local administrations to ensure that the new standard
is comprehensive and applicable nationwide," he told The Jakarta
Post.

Tamin said discussions had taken longer than estimated because
they had to take into account Law No. 22/1999 on regional
autonomy, Law No. 23/1997 on the environment and Law No. 14/1992
on traffic.

The current emission standard stipulates that gasoline-fueled
cars emit a maximum of 4.5 percent carbon monoxide (CO) and 2,400
parts per million (ppm) of hydrocarbons (HC). The smoke opacity
of diesel-fueled cars is limited to 25 percent.

The new standard will also take into account the results of a
recent emission test in greater Jakarta in May. In a random spot
check involving 2,034 cars, more than 60 percent of diesel-fueled
private vehicles and 36.2 percent of those that were gasoline-
fueled failed to meet the emission standards.

Jakarta has applied tougher standards since 2000, requiring
cars with injection systems not to exceed 3 percent CO and 600
ppm of HC.

Jakartans must have their vehicles tested at least once a year
at one of 50 appointed garages.

Tamin said his office had issued Ministerial Decree No.
141/2003, requiring all new vehicles to meet the Euro 2 standard.
The decree will become effective on Jan. 1, 2005.

Euro 2, which came into effect in Europe in 1996, permits
exhaust emissions of nitrous oxide of 7.0 grams per kilowatt-
hour, hydrocarbons 1.1 g/kWh, carbon monoxide 4.0 g/kWh and
particulates 0.15 g/kWh.

Meanwhile, attempts to apply emission stickers to vehicle
registration documents in a bid to raise public awareness are
still far from realization.

The idea of issuing differently colored stickers, depending on
whether vehicles comply with the regulation or not, arose during
a discussion organized by the Pelangi Foundation on Thursday.

"Vehicles passing the emission tests would be given green
stickers, while those that did not would get red ones," said
Mohamad Thamzil, head of the directorate of urban transportation
impact at the Ministry of Communications.

"The emission tests will be voluntary and we won't ban
vehicles that fail the test because we need to familiarize the
public with the issue."

Thamzil said the approach had been in use in India since 1998.

He added that if someone buying a vehicle found that it had a
red sticker, they would relate it to fuel quality. In the end,
the public would pressure the government to produce more
environmentally friendly fuel.

However, some Jakartans have already questioned the
effectiveness of the scheme.

Eka, a salesgirl at car dealer Mobil88, said the proposed idea
would only create a nuisance for her company and customers.

"Unless the emission test and labeling are free of charge,
customers will question them and probably cancel their car
purchases," she said.

As for Danny, a private car owner, the scheme would merely
provide an opportunity for corruption.

"Motorists can simply go to an authorized garage and bribe the
mechanic for a green sticker," he said. "If the objective is to
cause 'public humiliation', the stickers should be put on the
vehicle registration plates so that everybody can see them."