Better Air Quality Improves Quality of Life

The need to clean up the air in Asia is growing more urgent. Urban air pollution is causing more than 530,000 premature deaths in Asia annually, according to a study by the World Health Organization.

To clean up the air, we must clean up our fuels. Smoke from vehicles is a major source of pollution. Vehicles emit pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxide, among others. These pollutants will increase in levels as vehicle volumes rise in Asian cities.

The Asian Development Bank, in response to the urgent need to clean up the air, has assisted in developing a road map for cleaner fuels and vehicles in Asia. In order to clean up our fuel, sulfur levels must be reduced. In addition, cleaner fuels must be joined with advanced emission control devices in vehicles in order to further reduce emissions. Both fuel and vehicle must be addressed at the same time since they comprise an integrated system.

Cleaning up our fuels and using advance vehicle technology may seem costly at the onset, but it is actually cost-effective in the long term. Its benefits to public health and the environment far outweigh any savings one can get from dirty fuel and old vehicle emission devices, and they are always certainly worth any expense.