# _Motor Vehicle Emissions_

Vehicle emissions represent the greatest source of air pollution in Pakistan, reflecting the rapid growth in vehicle use. Growth has been especially strong within the past decade. Motor vehicle emissions account for about 90 percent of total emissions of hydrocarbons (smog), aldehydes, and carbon monoxide. Other emissions include lead, which can cause mental retardation in young children; sulfur dioxide (the precursor to acid rain); and nitrogen oxides.

Economic factors that have led to increased vehicle emissions include the growth in population and disposable income, the mass production of affordable vehicles, the deterioration of alternate modes of transportation, and the need to travel longer travel distances as a result of urban sprawl have led to the increase in vehicle emissions. Although petrol prices are high, encouraging fuel efficiency, car owners are for the most part unable to respond to the incentive to conserve gas because of the lack of alternatives: maintenance and tune-up facilities and public transportation are inadequate, and cleaner or less expensive fuels have only recently been available in Pakistan. A subsidy on diesel fuel provides incentives to switch consumption to diesel, which is more polluting than many alternative energy sources.

A study by the Applied Economic Research Center (AERC 1995) noted that increased vehicle emissions result from economic growth. Therefore, additional policies are needed to ensure that the benefits from economic growth are not offset by the costs of increased pollution. Targeted policies have been introduced in Pakistan, but are ineffective because of institutional failures. For instance, restrictions are placed on vehicle emissions under the 1965 Motor Vehicle Ordinance and 1969 Motor Vehicles Act. However, even the rudimentary compliance with these laws is not enforced in any meaningful way. Regulations go unenforced because of difficulties monitoring compliance, because of lack of resources, and because of corruption. A new enforcement strategy must therefore propose institutional reform of the legal, administrative, and police departments.

The absence of emissions regulations, the lack of enforcement of motor vehicle fitness regulations, and owners' lack of capital to purchase replacements mean that old vehicles stay on the roads longer. The results is that the average vehicle in Pakistan emits 20 times more hydrocarbons, 25 times more carbon monoxide, and 3.6 times more nitrous oxides than the average vehicle in the United States.

A start has been made in providing better vehicle maintenance facilities to the driving public through the GEF-fundeci fuel efficiency improvement program, which will set up modern gasoline and diesel engine diagnostic and tune-up centers in major urban centers in Pakistan. The project seeks to demonstrate the economic viability of such technology in the hope that such centers will be set up throughout the country. Immediate attention also needs to be paid to expanding and improving the public transportation system, currently patronized by only the lowest income groups; improving intercity railways; and enforcing regulations on excessive emissions from vehicles in all category groups.

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