A breath of fresh air

CAN Colombo make a difference and clean up its air? Local officials hope so and in doing so to improve the lives of over a million people living and working within the capital. 

Sri Lanka had already decided to nominate Colombo City as a participant in the Cities Clean Air Partnership (CCAP) program, a city-to-city support program that links Asian cities with California cities though a US-backed program that have decades of experience reducing air pollution. 

Increased vehicle emission in Colombo is one of the most important environmental issues that has drawn the attention of policymakers, administrators, and environmentalists in the recent past. Various studies undertaken by regulatory agencies and researchers clearly indicate that inefficient combustion of petroleum in motor vehicles is the primary cause of growing air pollution in Colombo. 

Lack of information on economic and environmental costs of vehicle emission and its mitigation and prevention have inhibited public response and enforcement, and impeded the implementation of existing laws, and the development of further regulations. Policy-oriented research in these areas may contribute to a better understanding of the problem and the introduction of effective control measures.

The worst prevalent air pollutants emitted from vehicles include particulate matter (PM), lead (Pb), non-methane volatile organic components (NMVOC), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO) and carbon monoxide (CO). Of these, particulate matter and lead are the most harmful components of vehicle exhaust that affect the environment and human beings.

Apart from pollutants emitted by petrol-driven vehicles, the amount of exhaust from diesel-driven vehicles is large and therefore a matter of major public concern due to its undesirable environmental effects. Although diesel-engine exhaust contains less toxic gases, it has a much higher particulate matter concentration than petrol-engine exhaust. 

In Sri Lanka, the observed levels of pollutants including lead are significantly higher than air quality standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) in Sri Lanka. This clearly demonstrates the special nature of the vehicle emission problem in the country which is directly linked with a wide range of factors such as composition and increase in number of vehicles, price structure of fuel, lack of traffic management, use of low-quality fuel, and absence of alternative fuels.

A limited number of epidemiological studies in Sri Lanka have investigated the health effects of air pollution. Based on findings of studies and reported air quality levels, air pollution may be considered a neglected public health problem in Sri Lanka. Therefore it is essential authorities make complete air quality information easily available to the public, tighten the controls for power plant emissions to reduce emissions in residential areas, introduce cleaner fuel standards by switching to electric vehicles and improve urban planning to increase green spaces.

All of these efforts need to be made Colombo’s air cleaner but will be costly in the short-term. On a macro level, the Government must also establish legally-binding and regional coordinated plans to reach national air quality standards that include clear timelines. Without such comprehensive policies, Colombo could just be another example of failed attempts.