Meio Ambiente

Despite the steep increase of the vehicle fleet in Brazil (estimated at around 36 million vehicles), the emissions of pollutant gases have fallen in the country. This is the conclusion of the 1st National On-road Vehicles Emission Inventory, launched on March 25 at the National Petroleum Agency, in Rio de Janeiro.

The document states that the transport sector is the one that causes most relevant impacts on air quality, and that on-road vehicles are responsible for 90% of emissions of pollutants and CO2. The minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, said that the document will guide public policies aimed at improving air quality.

According to the minister, users and consumers can also collaborate to improve air quality. "They can choose less polluting vehicles, use alternative transport and require that the government take effective measures to provide an integrated transport system in big cities", he said.

According to the manager of Air Quality at the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), Rudolf Noronha, the reduction in the emissions of pollutant gases demonstrates the success of the programs to control vehicle pollution that have been implemented by the government.

The inventory shows the emissions of the following pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), aldehydes (RHCO), particulate material (PM) and evaporative emissions, besides greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

The Secretary of Climate Change, Suzana Khan, said that the inventory is the starting point for the National Plan on Air Quality, which will contribute to achieving the goals stipulated in the National Plan on Climate Change.

At the ceremony, the minister signed an ordinance that will extend the activities of the Working Group (GT) responsible for preparing the National Inventory. The WG is comprised of eight institutions: MMA, IBAMA, ANP, ANTT, Petrobras, Anfavea, Cetesb and IEMA.

The WG will work, until December, to draw up inventories of the 10 largest metropolitan regions in Brazil: Porto Alegre, Curitiba, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza and Belém.