Ghana Missing the Mark on Plan for Fewer Polluting Cars

Used vehicles contribute greatly to transport emissions, undermining public health and the environment, write Festival Godwin Boateng and Jacqueline M Klopp for The Conversation. In the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia, "clunkers" programmes - exchanging older, polluting used vehicles for cash - are becoming a popular approach for reducing the vehicles' socio-environmental harms.

The UN Environment Programme has called on used vehicle-dependent countries to adopt and enforce strong vehicle regulations. These include complete bans and age caps on their importation. Many African countries have responded to the call. For instance, the environment and energy ministers of the Economic Community of West African States have adopted strict and comprehensive rules against used vehicle imports.

A recent study has also shown that such measures do not increase the purchase of cleaner, new vehicles - not just in Ghana, but Africa generally. Ghanaian planning professionals and politicians continue to promote the spatial separation of work and other activities far from home, compelling people to travel more. Road construction induces more spread-out land use and, hence, more travel. Yet, building roads gets priority over investing in user-oriented public transport.

The bans and import penalties only set the regulatory bar - and often the customs bribes - higher. They do not address the conditions that make people need old vehicles. Neither do they offer ways to afford newer, safer, less polluting options. Ghana's experience suggests that reducing used vehicle consumption and the related socio-environmental harms will require more than just restricting supply through bans.

This article originally appeared on AllAfrica.

Image via Bloomberg.