WORLD CAR-FREE DAY, observed on September 12, highlights the numerous benefits of going car-free to citizens, including reduced air pollution and promotion of walking and cycling for health and a safer environment. This day, also called ‘carpooling’ or ‘car-lite’, encourages using public transport and physical exercise.
The day brings less congested streets and reimagining our urban environments as cleaner, greener, and more accessible spaces for everyone. Many towns and cities are built around the use of cars, often leaving little space for pedestrians. But the prioritization of cars by city planners has various negative impacts on the environment and human health. The world has reached a point where we need to start thinking about reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and moving towards green energy sources.
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It’s not just the climate that cars are affecting; they also worsen air quality, with vehicle exhaust containing large quantities of toxic pollutants, which are linked to millions of deaths worldwide. People living in urban centres are particularly exposed to these hazardous pollutants, which are further aggravated by traffic jams, which have become a persistent problem in almost all cities as the number of vehicles on the roads has risen.
Many cities around the world are now trying to reduce the numbers of cars by increasing cycling lanes, or creating car-free zones, or introducing limited traffic zones, congestion charges, and odd-even rotation.
Transport is the fastest-growing source of fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions, which is the largest contributor to global warming. The number of cars in the world is estimated to be around 1.47 billion. These cars exhaust out roughly 3.5 billion metric tons of CO₂ (Gt. CO₂) per year.
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This accounts for half of global transportation CO₂ emissions but also represents 10 per cent of total fossil CO₂ emissions. According to the IPCC, road transport accounts for about 20 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, road vehicles are also responsible for 1.19 million accidental deaths and 50 million injuries per year.
Passenger vehicles are the largest chunk of emissions, releasing about 45 per cent of CO₂. If the conditions continue, annual GHG emissions in 2050 will be 90 per cent higher than today. Vehicle emissions increase from poor fuel quality and weak vehicle regulation. The UN Environment supports countries that act upon air pollution through the adoption of cleaner fuels and more efficient vehicle technologies and standards to phase out leaded gasoline.
India, with the third largest road network, has over 21 crore two-wheelers and over 7 crore four-wheelers and the above category of vehicles registered, as informed in Parliament by Nitin Gadkari on August 3, 2023.
Road travel seemed to be the preferred choice in India with around 60 per cent of the population who used personal or shared vehicles for commuting. In relation to the country’s population, there are 185 two-wheelers and 34 cars for every 1,000 people in the country, which are approximately 1 in 10 households, a stark contrast to 980 in America and 591 in Japan.
India is the fifth-largest global car manufacturer, and the annual car sales are projected to increase from the current 4.5 million to about 10.5 million—a threefold increase—by 2030, which will increase exposure to vehicular exhaust emissions.
According to studies, vehicles annually contribute about 290 gigagrams (Gg) of PM2.5. At the same time, around 8 per cent of total GHG emissions in India are from the transport sector, and in Delhi, it exceeds 30 per cent.
Air Pollution in Manipur
The main sources of air pollution in Manipur are the exhaust from fast-growing number of automobiles, dustfall due to bad roads, and other commercial earthmoving activities. There are more than 4,09,825 registered vehicles consuming 2,00,813 litres of petrol and 3,15,544 litres diesel per day in 2017-18 data. But we know, while 1 litre of petrol is burnt, 3 kilomoles of CO₂ are produced.
The cirque valley, affected by enormous emissions, has been experiencing unusual and insidious weather patterns, including cloudbursts, scanty rainfall, and occasional drought. An intimidating 42°C in Noney and 37.2°C in Imphal on 20 September last year was a clear signal. Therefore, this World Car Free Day, let’s start carpooling and walk and cycle wherever possible for a cleaner environment.
(The author is an Environmentalist, presently working as District Forest Officer, Chandel district, Manipur. The author can be reached at nmunall@yahoo.in)
(The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Ukhrul Times.)
