My dad’s friend Kofi used to come over every few months to see how many old and used bicycles my dad had found while curbside shopping. Dad loved to collect old and used stuff from the garbage and made a living out of it – finding homes for old computers back in the day, recycling metal, or selling his items at a vintage shop.

Kofi could buy 100 bikes at a time, some for $5, some up to $20. The idea was to ship them in shipping containers to his homeland in Ghana, western Africa. There Kofi’s family fixed them up and resold them for a handsome profit, even though to us all those old bikes were thought of as junk, not even worth their weight in scrap metal. 

Re-using and finding new homes for second hand bikes is one thing, but when it comes to old cars, it’s another. America, Japan and Europe are shipping non-road worthy cars to Africa where they are creating an enormous amount of air pollution, greenhouse gases and dangers for those driving them. But companies around the world, especially in the United States are looking for old cars for parts and to rehabilitate. Before you send it to the wrecker you might be surprised what a local internet search will find you. 

Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the United States and Japan to the developing world are of poor quality, contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme, also called UNEP.

Maybe you read about how keeping your old car up to date is better than buying a new Tesla? More convincing evidence below.

The report shows that between 2015 and 2018, 14 million used light-duty vehicles were exported worldwide. Some 80 per cent went to low- and middle-income countries, with more than half going to Africa.

The first-ever report of its kind calls for action to fill the current policy vacuum with the adoption of harmonized minimum quality standards that will ensure used vehicles contribute to cleaner, safer fleets in importing countries.

The fast-growing global vehicle fleet is a major contributor to air pollution and climate change; globally, the transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions, UNEP reports. Specifically, vehicle emissions are a significant source of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) that are major causes of urban air pollution.

“Cleaning up the global vehicle fleet is a priority to meet global and local air quality and climate targets,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.  This is a United Nations environmental group. “Over the years, developed countries have increasingly exported their used vehicles to developing countries; because this largely happens unregulated, this has become the export of polluting vehicles.”

“The lack of effective standards and regulation is resulting in the dumping of old, polluting and unsafe vehicles,” she added. “Developed countries must stop exporting vehicles that fail environment and safety inspections and are no longer considered roadworthy in their own countries, while importing countries should introduce stronger quality standards”

The report, based on an in-depth analysis of 146 countries, found that some two-thirds of them have ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ policies to regulate the import of used vehicles. However, it also shows that where countries have implemented measures to govern the import of used vehicles – notably age and emissions standards – these give them to access high-quality used vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars, at affordable prices.

Morocco understands the problem of old clunkers

For example, Morocco only permits the import of vehicles less than five years old and those meeting the EURO4 European vehicles emission standard; as a result, it receives only relatively advanced and clean used vehicles from Europe.

The report found that African countries imported the largest number of used vehicles (40 per cent) in the period studied, followed by countries in Eastern Europe (24 per cent), Asia-Pacific (15 per cent), the Middle East (12 per cent) and Latin America (nine per cent).

Through its ports, the Netherlands is one of the exporters of used vehicles from Europe. A recent review conducted by The Netherlands of its exports found that most of these vehicles did not have a valid roadworthiness certificate at the time of export.

Most vehicles were between 16 and 20 years old, and most fell below EURO4 European Union vehicles emission standards. For example, the average age of used vehicles exported to the Gambia was close to 19 years old, while a quarter of used vehicles exported to Nigeria were almost 20 years old.

“These results show that urgent action needs to be taken to improve the quality of used vehicles exported from Europe. The Netherlands cannot address this issue alone. Therefore, I will call for a coordinated European approach, and a close cooperation between European and African governments, to ensure that the EU only exports vehicles that are fit for purpose, and compliant with standards set by importing countries,” Stientje Van Veldhoven, The Netherlands Minister for the Environment, said.

Older cars, more accidents

Poor quality used vehicles also lead to more road accidents. According to the report, many of the countries with “very weak” or “weak” used vehicles regulations, including Malawi, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Burundi, also have very high road traffic death rates. Countries that have introduced used vehicles regulations also see safer fleets and fewer accidents.

UNEP, with the support of the UN Road Safety Trust Fund and others, is part of a new initiative supporting the introduction of minimum used vehicles standards. The initiative’s first focus will be countries on the African continent; a number of African countries have already put in place minimum quality standards – including Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Mauritius – with many more showing interest in joining the initiative.

“The impact of old polluting vehicles is clear. Air quality data in Accra confirms that transport is the main source of air pollution in our cities. This is why Ghana is prioritizing cleaner fuels and vehicle standards, as well as electric bus opportunities.

Ghana was the first country in the West Africa region to shift to low sulphur fuels and this month has imposed a 10-year age limit for used vehicle imports,” said Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Ghana’s Minister for Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation.

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Energy Industries, a company which specializes in converting energy from plants and other organic material, was awarded a contract to construct a plant in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, to create electric power from natural gas extracted from a large landfill.

The NIS 20 Million ($ 5,555,000) project will be carried out in conjunction with commitments made by Western countries during the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, that went  into effect in February,  2005. The aim of the Kyoto Protocol was to reduce greenhouse gasses in different parts of the world; including Mid East CO2 emitting countries like Qatar.

The use of methane gas produced by large landfills is one of many ideas as a way of reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Zion Suki, Energy Company’s General Manager, said that the  project will involve doing test drills in the landfill, left unplanned for decades, to determine the amount of available gas supplies that can be obtained from it. “The landfill was unplanned; therefore, there is no way of knowing how much gas reserves might be available. We will only know by conducting test drilling to determine this,” says Suki.

Suki adds that knowledge gained in this project will be used in similar projects in other countries. In addition to projects involving uses for natural gas created in landfills, Energy Industries has been involved in designing and building energy-conserving systems that utilize alternative energy sources such as solar energy, establishing energy enterprises and institutions; and creating unique heating solutions for greenhouses and heating systems.

With the future of the Kyoto Protocol still in doubt, following the 2012 COP 17 Climate Change Conference in Durban, S.A., one can only wonder if projects like this one in Ghana will help reverse the ongoing results of climate change. According to last week’s UN report, 2012 showed the highest level of greenhouse emissions rates on record. Looks like things will be getting worse before they get better.

More on Kyoto Protocol and creating energy from waste products:

Will the Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar of 2012?

Israel to Build Largest Middle East Recycling Plant

Possible End of Kyoto at Durban Threatens MENA Renewable Energy

Photos of Kumasi landfill: Energy Industries

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“Carbon footprint is a global issue and the simplest and easiest method to offset carbon is to plant as many trees as you can,” George Itty, chief executive of Nahtam, told The National.

So instead of planting trees in Abu Dhabi, where high temperatures, excess sunlight, and water scarcity would make such a project very expensive and potentially open to failure, the firm has set its sights on a 4,000 acre plot of land in Accra, Ghana instead.

In addition to having a “healthy” workforce that is desperately in need of jobs, Itty says that Ghana has the requisite climate for organic farming.

After a year of negotiating to purchase the appropriate piece of land, Nahtam is almost ready to start planting crops within the next six months. These will include bananas, avocados, pineapples and palm oil, according to The National.

Additionally, as part of a longer term investment, the group will plant teak and rubber trees – both coveted crops that will take some time to mature. And they promise to do all of this in a manner that is both environmentally and socially harmonious.

“We won’t use chemicals,” Mr Itty told the paper. “Even the power will be from solar and wind so it will be sustainable.”

Already, 36 villages have been set up to house the 2,000 or so locals who will be employed for the project and crops will reportedly be sold locally and exported. Sounds like a meaningful endeavor, but it would be interesting to see the setup on the other side.

Other projects, under the guise of creating food security for populations in the Middle East, have resulted in the displacement of local populations.

For a list of several countries that have had their land usurped, check out this post written by former Green Prophet writer Arwa Aburawa. Particularly harsh is the displacement of thousands of Ethiopians.

Nahtam is committed to social responsibility. That is the firm’s big thrust, so there’s little reason to suspect that this initiative is infused with anything less than integrity. However, it’s certainly worth watching to ensure that this isn’t a wolf disguised in sheep’s clothing.

:: The National

Image of Ghana maize stamp, Shutterstock  

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It will take dedicated visionaries to help stop America’s addiction to foreign oil. And that’s what Doron Levi, the COO of alternative energy company Galten Global Alternative Energy has his heart set on doing. The telephone line was shaky and his Internet connection unreliable, yet Levi spoke with me from far away in Ghana where he’s overseeing a project that’s squeezing fuel from the seeds of an African perennial – the jatropha plant. This could be the next big thing for biofuel.

The jatropha is rich in oil and the “weed” doesn’t compete with food crops – making it an ideal specimen for biofuel. It has a duel function of being an ideal perimeter protector as grazing animals do not like to eat it.

Over in Ghana, Levi is working with about thirty locals to grow and cultivate a 250-acre site that may give rise to some of the world’s most important biofuel reserves ever.

Galten is based in Israel, but the company founders chose to plant in Ghana, where the jatropha (Jatropha curcas) already grows.

“We are working according to plan growing the jatropha plants. We’ve built a nursery, but it’s not easy in Africa,” Levi says, noting that the indigenous bush snakes can be particularly dangerous.

Leasing land in Ghana

Despite the difficulties – and the snakes – Levi believes the company has done something special. “It’s a win-win situation – good for the world, good for the people,” he explains.

With a lease on half a million acres of land in Ghana, Galten’s founders – Levi and his partner Shlomi Jonas, now the CEO of Galten – have big plans for jatropha seeds as biofuel. Although the extraction method is secret, Levi says, experts do already know that the jatropha plant, which lives about 30 to 40 years, is a rich source of biofuel. Its seeds contain an oil content of about 35 percent, but there have been industry limitations extracting it, says Levi.

According to Galten’s website only one ton of biofuel can be extracted from 2.5 acres of edible crops such as corn or soybeans, whereas three tons of biofuel can be produced on the same amount of acreage growing jatropha plants. Levi expects Galten will be able to start producing biofuel in about two or three years: “How you do it exactly, well that’s our secret,” he says.

Not eaten by animals, jatropha plants are a vigorous, drought- and pest-tolerant plant used mainly as a hedge to protect cropland from grazing animals. It is a low-growing specimen, native to South America, but which is widely used in Central America, Africa and Asia.

High quality biofuel

Galten was founded in 2006 and is based in Kadima, Israel. According to its calculations, Galten’s extraction method not only produces a high-quality source of biofuel, it also reduces carbon dioxide emissions, which are sequestered and stored by the jatophra plant.

Eventually, the stalks and other biomass created by the plant could be used as biofuel as well. Galten is working on R&D in this direction.

Galten’s founders are ambitious and have attracted an initial round of financing of $10 million from the Xpert Financial Group based in Israel. International companies are already interested, such as Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro and a refinery in Europe.

(Image via treesftf)

(This article is reprinted courtesy of ISRAEL21c)

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