An assessment by Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) and Rwanda National police’s campaign dubbed ‘Healthy Vehicle, Cleaner Skies,’ that has been running since March this year, has found that in some urban areas, 80 percent of tested vehicles, mainly old cars, are emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.

Currently, Rwanda has 221,000 registered vehicles consisting of 52 percent of motorcycles and 38 percent passenger vehicles, of which at least 30,000 are in Kigali.

Over 95 percent of cars in operation in Rwanda are currently more than ten years old with less stringent emissions standards than newer models, according to REMA.

According to REMA, the huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles were identified in parts of the country such as Huye district in Rwabuye and bus terminal area, and parts of Kigali City among other secondary and satellite cities.

The ongoing campaign targets owners of fossil-fuel powered vehicles and machines using petroleum products, to properly service and keep them in good working conditions to reduce emissions, which contribute to global warming. It also aims to urge owners of automobiles to use fuels that comply with national standards, in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to preserve air quality for all.

During the campaign, mobile emission testing was conducted in the City of Kigali as well as Huye, Rwamagana, Musanze and Rubavu districts among others.

Beata Akimpaye, the Division Manager in charge of Environmental Compliance and Enforcement at REMA told The New Times that the transport sector remains a major source of air pollution in Rwanda, especially in urban areas.

"The main contributors to air pollution linked to transport are the old and used motor vehicles imported with poor or degraded emission control technology. Vehicles manufactured before 1999 contribute 58 percent of Nitrogen oxides emissions and 66 percent of inhalable particles emissions,” she said.

She said, there are several preventative measures to combat air pollution including an air quality monitoring instruments system that provides data (real-time air quality index) on air quality across the country.

The data is also accessible on the "Rwanda AQI” application so that users can compare ground observation data with satellite data,” she said.

Impact of air pollution by old cars

The greenhouse gas emissions are worrying considering that air pollution is a leading environmental threat to human health, Akimpaye said.

Air pollution caused by old cars and other sources, she said, has a major impact on the process of plant evolution by preventing photosynthesis in many cases, with serious consequences for the purification of the air we breathe.

"Air pollution resulting from old cars and other sources is also a major contributor to global warming and climate change,” she said.

Today, 90 percent of people globally breathe polluted air and approximately 7 million of people die from air pollution-related causes every year.

Even at low doses, air pollutants are harmful to human health and ecosystems. Exposure to these pollutants is strongly correlated with an increase in mortality caused by cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, cancer, acute respiratory infections, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 According to the Ministry of Health 2020 report, these non-communicable diseases were the second leading cause of mortality in Rwanda, while respiratory diseases were the leading cause of morbidity in Rwanda in 2019.

"These trends are reflected at a global level where about seven million people die prematurely each year from the effects of both indoor and outdoor air pollution. This makes air pollution a leading cause of risk of death at the global level after high blood pressure, smoking and unhealthy diet,” she said.

Recommendations

Akimpaye said that it is recommended to conduct regular service of vehicles and use other means of transport like the use of bicycles or walking on foot.

"It is recommended to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, and plant forests in a sustainable manner as forests play a great role by absorbing harmful greenhouse gasses that cause climate change. People have to play a part in the use of public transport rather than private transport in order to reduce vehicle emissions contributing to air pollution,” she said.

During the campaign, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, the RNP spokesperson, said that emissions inspection and testing is an obligation to all vehicles in Rwanda to prevent air pollution.

"The contribution of vehicles to the city’s ambient air pollution cannot be ignored. All motor-vehicles in Rwanda are required to undergo emissions inspection and testing at the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centre. Any vehicle that does not meet applicable emissions standards is not authorised to operate in Rwanda,” said CP Kabera.

The Traffic Police, he added, also has mobile hand-held vehicle emissions inspection equipment for on-the-spot emission checks.

Switching to electric vehicles

Other responses in collaboration with stakeholders, she noted, include initiatives in the energy and transport sectors.

"In the transport sector, there is focus on green cities and electric mobility,” she said.

In April 2021, an electric mobility strategy that contains tax incentives for electric mobility inputs, lower electricity tariffs and other incentives was also introduced.

According to the Ministry of Environment, total adoption of electric vehicles and related solutions in Rwanda will require up to $900 million.

Studies show that electric vehicles could save Rwf20 billion on fossil fuel importation by 2025.

In the next 10 years, Rwanda targets to convert 20 per cent of the fleet for Kigali Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), bus services to electric at the cost of over $1 billion and 33 percent of motorcycle operations.