The export of polluting used vehicles to poor countries is an environmental scourge

Every year, millions of heavily polluting used vehicles are exported to developing countries, contributing significantly to air pollution and hampering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

A major environmental problem

A recent report from United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) revealed that 14 million used light vehicles had been exported worldwide since theEurope, the Japan and the United States between 2015 and 2018. With around 80% of these exports to low and middle income countries, more than half of them toAfrica.

Growing rapidly, the global vehicle fleet is one of the main culprits of air pollution and climate change. The transport sector is estimated to be responsible for nearly a quarter of global fossil fuel-related greenhouse gas emissions, with vehicles generating large amounts of fine particles (PM 2.5) and oxides nitrogen.

” Sanitation of the global fleet is a priority to meet global and local air quality and climate goals “, said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP. ” Over the years, developed countries have increasingly exported their used vehicles to developing countries and because this is done largely without regulation, it has become the export of polluting vehicles.. “

Based on an in-depth analysis of 146 countries, the report found that around two-thirds of them had grossly insufficient regulations for importing used vehicles. However, he also pointed out that countries with strict regulations in place to control this influx had access to high-quality used vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars.

This is particularly the case of Morocco, only authorizing the importation of vehicles less than five years old meeting the European emission standard EURO4. As a result, it receives only relatively new and clean used vehicles from Europe. Recently, a group of 15 African countries announced tough new rules for vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency.

40% of exports to Africa

Over the period studied, African countries imported the greatest number of used vehicles (40%), followed by countries ofEastern Europe (24%),Asia Pacific (15%), from Middle East (12%) andLatin America (9%). While among the main exporters, we find in particular Netherlands, thanks to their ports.

The report determined that most of the vehicles were between 16 and 20 years old, and did not meet the standard EURO4 in terms of polluting emissions. It turned out that the average age of used vehicles exported to the Gambia was close to 19 years, compared to 20 years for a quarter of those exported to Nigeria.

” These results show that urgent action is needed to improve the quality of used vehicles exported from Europe. The Netherlands cannot tackle this problem alone. That is why I will call for a coordinated European approach and close cooperation between European and African governments. “, said Stientje van Veldhoven, Dutch Minister of the Environment.

Old vehicles leading to an increase in the number of road accidents

The re-circulation of vehicles in poor condition also leads to an increase in the number of road accidents. Thus, many countries with regulations ” low ” at ” very weak »On used vehicles, in particular Malawi, the Nigeria, the Zimbabwe and the Burundi, also record a very high road fatality rate (theAfrica being by far the most affected continent with 240,000 deaths per year).

In order to reduce the number of deaths and limit air pollution, United Nations rely on the introduction of minimum standards for used vehicles (control of mechanical defects and emission levels). The initiative will primarily focus on the countries of the African continent.