Issues: International Issues

At the Johannesburg Summit, NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) will join UNEP, UNDESA, national governments, industry, NGOs and other civil society organizations in launching a groundbreaking Type II partnership to help reduce urban air pollution by eliminating lead from gasoline and phasing down sulfur from diesel and gasoline fuels.

The Phase-Out of Lead: A Rio Success Story Awaiting Its Final Chapter

Until 1970, nearly all the world's gasoline contained lead, a mineral added in fuel refining. In 1994, two years after the Rio Earth Summit, the UN Commission on Sustainable Development issued a call for the worldwide elimination of leaded gasoline. What followed was a remarkable response from national governments, international financial institutions and NGOs. In the absence of a specific international treaty or governing body to coordinate implementation efforts, civil society organizations, such as NRDC, collaborated with national governments, the World Bank, UNEP and others to implement phase-out initiatives around the world. By the end of 2001, more than 50 countries had eliminated leaded gasoline or made commitments to do so -- ranging from developing nations such as Bangladesh, Haiti, Nicaragua and Vietnam, to wealthier Belgium, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States. Today, about 86 percent of the world's gasoline is unleaded.

Eliminating lead is critically important for human health. Lead is a cumulative toxin that builds up in soft tissue -- kidneys, bone marrow, liver and brain -- as well as in bones and teeth. Most lead poisoning occurs when people breathe air, drink water, and eat foods contaminated with lead. Lead can be extremely damaging, especially for children, because it inhibits the body's oxygen and calcium transport and alters nerve transmission in the brain. Lead poisoning can cause mental retardation, impaired growth and, at high doses, even death. In adults, high blood-lead levels are related to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and premature death.

Eliminating lead from gasoline has benefits beyond the reduction in lead emissions. In nations that have unleaded gasoline, cars are generally equipped with catalytic converters, which reduce smog-forming and other pollutants. Lead in gasoline, even in trace amounts, poisons catalytic converters.

While much of the world has acted, most African countries, the Commonwealth of Independent States and several Middle East nations continue to use leaded gasoline. However, there has been recent progress to accelerate the phase-out of leaded gasoline in Africa. In July 2001, participants from 25 sub-Saharan African countries signed the Dakar Declaration, pledging to completely eliminate the use of leaded gasoline completely by 2005. At Johannesburg, the remaining African countries should make a renewed commitment to eliminate lead from gasoline in their countries.

The Phase-Down of Sulfur in Diesel Fuel: The Next Challenge

Phasing down sulfur from diesel fuel (to the ultra-low levels being introduced in North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and elsewhere) is the other half of the battle to clean up the world's fuel supply to ensure cleaner vehicles in the future. Most of the world's trucks and buses run on diesel-fuel -- and the number of diesel cars is expected to double in the next 20 years, a faster growth rate than gasoline-powered cars.

Today's diesel-fueled vehicles emit large amounts of particulate matter (PM) that trigger asthma attacks, lung disease, cancer and premature death; more than 40 known cancer-causing chemicals; and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which lead to increased smog, acid rain, crop and forest damage, and nutrient pollution in waterways.

Just as removing lead from gasoline enables the use of catalytic converters to reduce other pollutants, removing sulfur from diesel fuel enables the use of catalysts and filter systems to dramatically reduce PM and NOx. Once sulfur levels are reduced to ultra-low levels, it is possible to reduce 90 percent or more of the PM and NOx emissions.

The health benefits of reducing sulfur levels to ultra-low levels are significant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that its plan to reduce U.S. diesel sulfur levels to ultra-low levels in mid-2006 (from today's 500 ppm to 15 ppm) will enable manufacturers to introduce advanced emission controls that will reduce PM emissions by 90 percent and NOx emissions by 95 percent, starting in 2007. This step will eliminate 8,300 premature deaths, 23,100 cases of chronic or acute bronchitis in children, more than 360,000 asthma attacks and 386,000 cases of respiratory symptoms in asthmatic children, plus a savings of more than 1.5 million lost workdays each year. In many countries, diesel sulfur levels exceed 5,000 ppm -- so the health benefits of reducing sulfur levels -- and of introducing advanced emission controls -- in those countries will be even greater.

The health benefits of cleaner diesel fuel far outweigh implementation costs that would be borne by refineries, petroleum distribution systems and vehicle or engine makers. According to the U.S. EPA, when its diesel program is fully implemented, the net annual benefits will exceed $66 billion (1999$). Both the U.S. EPA and BP, the largest seller of diesel fuel in the United States, have estimated that the average consumer cost of reducing sulfur levels to 15 ppm in the United States would be no more than 5 cents per gallon. In Europe, the estimated cost of reducing sulfur levels from the current 350 ppm level to 10 ppm ranges from 9-13 cents per gallon (U.S.$), reflecting Europe's higher fuel costs.

Most of the world, however, continues to use diesel fuel that has extremely high sulfur levels. For example, China's sulfur levels often exceed 5,000 ppm, and in New Delhi, the typical truck burns a diesel fuel with a sulfur level of 2,500 ppm. In South America, sulfur levels exceed 2,500 ppm in many nations and reach 10,000 ppm in Brazil. There has been no effort to reduce sulfur levels in Africa, and there is scant information about sulfur levels there.

What are the next steps?

At WSSD, NRDC will be joining UNEP, UNDESA, national governments, industry and civil society organizations to launch the "Clean Fuels and Vehicles Partnership," a Type II partnership dedicated to completing the global elimination of lead in gasoline and beginning the phase down of sulfur levels in diesel and gasoline fuels. This partnership will help countries develop specific action plans; support the adoption of cleaner fuel and vehicle emission standards; develop public awareness campaigns; develop enforcement and compliance programs; and foster key partnerships among government, industry, NGOs and others that are trying to implement clean fuel commitments.

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