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| AFP |
Five countries in West
Africa have decided to stop importing "dirty fuels" from Europe, the
UN Environment Programme says.
BBC
Africa Live report continues:
A
report (CLICK HERE) by campaign group Public Eye in September alleged that European
companies were exploiting weak regulations in West Africa to export fuels with
high levels of sulphur.
Nigeria,
Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire have agreed on the ban, the UN agency
said.
The
move will help more than 250 million people breath safer and cleaner air, it
added.
Nigeria’s
Environment Minister Amina Mohamed is quoted in the agency's statement as
saying:
“For
20 years Nigeria has not been able to address the vehicle pollution crisis due
to the poor fuels we have been importing. Today we are taking a huge leap
forward – limiting sulfur in fuels from 3000 parts per million to 50 parts per
million, this will result in major air quality benefits in our cities and will
allow us to set modern vehicle standards.”
UN
Environment head Erik Solheim said:
“West
Africa is sending a strong message that it is no longer accepting dirty fuels
from Europe. Their decision to set strict new standards for cleaner, safer
fuels and advanced vehicle emission standards shows they are placing the health
of their people first.
Their move is an example for countries around the world to follow. Air pollution is killing millions of people every year and we need to ensure that all countries urgently introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles to help reduce the shocking statistics.”
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