WSSD Report FINAL! - OGP

THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FROM RIO TO JOHANNESBURG AND BEYOND
Urban air quality
Investments in these areas have contributed to a
significant reduction in vehicle emissions in
many developed countries, despite an increase
in vehicle miles travelled. In the USA, carbon
monoxide (CO) emissions from motor vehicles
have decreased by 56 per cent over the past
twenty years.
In the USA clean fuels, cleaner cars and cleaner industry
operations account for 70 per cent of America’s emission
reductions since 1970. In just over 30 years, emissions have
declined 31 per cent while vehicle miles increased 140 per cent
and the gross domestic product increased 147 per cent.
Of course, neither our industry nor the automotive
sector can claim sole credit for progress
in emissions reduction. Involvement of local
communities, government, academia and
consumers is essential to successfully tackle air
quality issues.
The launch of the World Bank Clean Air
Initiative (CAI) in 1998 is an example of this
cooperation in action. In December 1999, the
oil and gas industry participated in the Latin
American CAI Steering Committee, together
with the Regional Association of Oil and
Natural Gas Companies in Latin America and
the Caribbean (ARPEL). Industry involvement
ensured the development of a structured and
integrated approach to the development of
legislation to reduce emissions and improve air
quality. As part of this programme, the IPIECA
Toolkit (see case study) was made available to the
participating cities and has played an important
role in the continuing development of the Latin
American CAI.
Actions speaking louder than words
Case studies on urban air quality
Fuel improvements in Malaysia: phasing out
leaded gasoline; phasing in natural gas
Motor vehicle emissions are a major source of air
pollution in Malaysia’s urban areas. To improve
air quality, reduction of lead in gasoline was done in
stages, beginning in 1985 with a reduction from 0.85
to 0.4 g/l and from 0.4 to 0.15 g/l in 1990.
On 1 January 1990, Petronas led the way in introducing
unleaded dual fuels in Malaysia. A year later, all
oil companies stopped selling leaded gasoline.
Correspondingly, airborne lead concentrations in
Kuala Lumpur showed a ten-fold reduction from
1µg/m 3 in 1989 to 0.1 µg/m 3 in 1998.
Even before those efforts, Petronas embarked on
the Peninsular Gas Utilization (PGU) project to supply
gas as an alternative cleaner energy source to the
industrial, commercial and residential sectors. As part
Petronas is aiming to
establish 162 ‘natural
gas for vehicles’
(NGV) outlets, such as
the one shown here,
throughout Malaysia
by 2006.
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