By ibrahima yakubu
Significant Reduction in CO₂ Emissions in Nigeria as Millions of Motorists Abandon Vehicles Amid Subsidy Removal, Fostering Climate Change Mitigation
Dirty Cars, trucks, and buses powered by fossil fuels are major contributors to air pollution in Nigeria .
In fact, transportation emits more than half of nitrogen oxides in our air, and is a major source of global warming emissions in Nigeria.
Believe me or not, Transportation is now one of the largest source of carbon emissions in Nigeria , the personal automobile is the single greatest polluter because emissions from millions of vehicles on the road add up.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, individuals can use cleaner modes of transportation to get around, from public transit to biking and walking.
The Registrar General of African institute of waste management and environmental studies, Dr Ahmed Lateef Tayo has explained that Most vehicle owners in Nigeria have been forced to abandon their vehicles due to their inability to purchase fuel that is now beyond their reach following the withdrawal of the subsidy on the commodity by the federal government.
Adding that cars are a major contributor to air pollution producing significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter.
According to him, this has lead to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere as a result of human irrational activities of polluting the environment through car, truck, lorries, and other personal vehicle.
In an Investigations by the team of volunteer scientists working under the institute, it revealed how most vehicle were parks and garages in the country are nearly filled to the brim with the cars and buses most of which carry empty tanks.
Fact finding also shows that 67 million cars are produced a year. If all vehicles are counted, the number is almost 92 million
He said, most motorists were equally been forced to abondoned their vehicles due to high cost of fuel in the country. Stressing that there is a huge reduction of vehicles on the high ways, and as such there is a break in clean air in the environment.
It was found that the vehicle owners abandoned them a few weeks after the pump price was hiked by the filling stations following the announcement of the withdrawal of the subsidy.
It was also revealed that even school buses are not spared by this development as drivers of such vehicles have parked them, leaving the children to find their way to schools. Adding that Cars are a heavy CO2 emitter and air polluter Some car owners lamented that they could no longer afford to fuel vehicles as they have other pressing needs to attend to. Such basic needs, According to them, include feeding and medical care whose prices have equally skyrocketed.
One of the residents comrade James Auta explain why he packed his car at home for the past 3 weeke According to him, he parked his vehicle after the subsidy removal, lamented that the current situation has compelled him to resort to joining commercial Tricycles popularly known as keke napep , whose operators have also increased their charges outrageously.
He said: “In a situation where you used to pay an average of N50 per drop you now have to pay between N150 to N200 which is a serious drain on my resource. I have now decided that, instead of buying a N5,000 fuel that is less than 10 liters for my car
, I should channel the money to the purchase of foodstuff and toiletries for my family.”
A school bus driver, Samuel Christopher said his school management has directed him to park the vehicle as it can no longer afford fueling it due to the prevailing situation.
He said the decision had compelled parents to find alternative means of transporting their children to schools, and such alternatives include commercial Tricycles, motorcycle, bicycles and trekking. Some car owners lamented that they could no longer afford to fuel vehicles as they have other pressing needs to attend to. Such basic needs, according to them, include feeding and medical care whose prices have equally skyrocketed
. It could be recalled that president Bola Tinubu had on Monday, May 29, 2023, announced shortly after his inauguration that the era of subsidising petrol consumption was gone.
This was immediately followed by marketers increasing the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit to N500 per litre from around N185. The increase in the pump price of the commodity led to sharp rises in transport fares and the prices of most commodities and services.
By 2030, an estimated 127 million vehicles will be produced globally. By 2035, the total number of vehicles could be 2 billion.
The environmental impact of cars will depend on how effectively we move towards electrified cars (and more fuel efficient cars but that’s not a long term solution).
The transport sector burns most of the world’s petroleum and is one of the largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s also heavy on air pollution. cars are a major contributor to air pollution producing significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. 80-90% of cars’ environmental impact comes from fuel consumption and emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Particulate matter in the air alone is responsible for up to 30,000 premature deaths every year.
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If all vehicles are counted, the number is almost 92 million Cars impact on the environment
The transport sector is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissions and a major source of air pollution.
Two new vehicles enter the roads every single second. By 2030 it will be more than four. By 2030, an estimated 127 million vehicles will be produced globally.
By 2035, the total number of vehicles could be 2 billion.
The environmental impact of cars will depend on how effectively we move towards electrified cars (and more fuel efficient cars but that’s not a long term solution). Cars are a heavy CO2 emitter and air polluter The transport sector burns most of the world’s petroleum and is one of the largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s also heavy on air pollution. cars are a major contributor to air pollution producing significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. 80-90% of cars’ environmental impact comes from fuel Consumption and emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Particulate matter in the air alone is responsible for up to 30,000 premature deaths every year. We can do better than that A century ago, Ford Motor Company’s Model T got better gas mileage than many cars that we see on the roads today.
The Ford T averaged up to 9 km/l (21 mpg) while the average today is around 10.7 km/l (25.2 mpg). The most fuel efficient cars however can go over 25 km/l (60 mpg).
We need to move away from fossil fuelled cars Electric vehicles can reduce GHG emissions by half in 2030 compared to fossil fuel driven cars, offsetting up to 540 Megatons of CO2-equivalents. Electrified cars also significantly reduce air pollution.
He suggest that Electrified cars made up just 0.4% of the cars on the road in 2018.
By 2030, the share of electrified vehicles of new sales could be as high as 50%. But it could also be only 10%.
It will depend on incentives for producers and consumers such as tax breaks for clean electricity, taxation of CO2-emissions, elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and so on. Some countries have made major progress on the use of electrified cars. In Norway, 56% of new cars sold in 2019 were electric (fully or plug-in hybrids).
He encouraged Nigerian to try minimizing their carbon emissions by traveling by train or other public transportation modes.
