August to be 'Clean Air' month in Azerbaijan

Source: AzerNews

Azerbaijan's Main State Traffic Police Department jointly with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources will hold a "Clean Air" month in the country on August 1-31.

Road transport is the third largest and the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. Vehicle emissions contribute to the increasing concentration of gases that are leading to climate change.

The main purpose of the undertaking in Azerbaijan is to tighten control over the air pollution and to prevent air pollution by harmful substances, which are components of the exhaust gases, the traffic police department said on July 25.

In connection with the event, the traffic police department has appealed to drivers and owners of vehicles encouraging them to use the vehicles only when their engines are regulated and ensure compliance with standard indicators of exhaust gases.

Individuals and entities using vehicles with exhaust gases which contain excessive harmful substances will bear responsibility in accordance with the law.

The number of vehicles increases by 75,000-85,000 a year in Azerbaijan. About 70 percent of the country's cars are used in the capital Baku, which significantly complicates traffic in the busy city and makes the capital the most car exhaust polluted city of the country.

While the number of cars increases, pollution becomes a problem for the country. The problem is also complicated by the use of obsolete cars, which do not comply with the modern standards and considerably pollute the environment.

Europe has established emission standards which define the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in European Union member states. Azerbaijan started enforcing the Euro 2 standard on July 1, 2011.

Europe introduced Euro 2 in 1996.

Azerbaijan may start applying the Euro 3 environmental standard on fuel in 2013. The standard will also regulate the quality of the fuel used in the country. At present, the Euro 3 environmental standard in the country applies to vehicles and their spare parts.

Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR's commissioning a new oil and gas refining and petrochemical complex in the Garadagh district of Baku will enable a further transition from Euro 4 to Euro 5. Azerbaijan plans to launch production of fuel meeting the Euro-4 standard in 2015.