Ministers of Environment and Energy of the fifteen countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted in February 2020 in Burkina Faso, regulations to introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles in the West African region. This initiative will reduce the level of air pollution in cities in the region.
The governments of the fifteen countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are beginning to respond to their populations’ cry of desperation. In February 2020 in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, the environment and energy ministers of these countries adopted a set of regulations. These aim to introduce cleaner fuels and vehicles in the West African region.
For decades, communities in ECOWAS countries have been suffering from the negative effects on their health of inhaling toxic fumes. This is due to increasing levels of air pollution in cities. With a population of nearly 400 million, West Africa has one of the fastest growing car fleets in the world. The majority of vehicle imports into the region are second-hand vehicles and the fuel used is generally of poor quality. In 2016 Onitsha, a city in Nigeria, was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most polluted city in the world in terms of fine particles, which are very harmful to the lungs.
The standards adopted by the Ministers of Environment and Energy of the ECOWAS countries therefore mark an important step in the reduction of air pollution in the region. They are the culmination of several years of work by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Read more…