With increasing vehicle population to meet rising mobility needs in the continent, most African cities are recording poor air quality, with the situation expected to worsen due to the use of dirty fuels and old, obsolete vehicle technologies. For example, air quality monitoring studies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Accra Ghana, show roadside small particulates, that are associated with decreased lung functioning, heart ailments, and even premature death, accounting for the largest source of these harmful emissions.
The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), which is hosted by UNEP, has been leading efforts in the Global South to adopt cleaner fuels and vehicle standards. With the global elimination of leaded petrol in 2021, the focus now is on the reduction of Sulphur in petrol and diesel fuel to 50 parts per million (ppm) and below in the Global South. The PCFV partners agreed in 2006 to support a global shift to low Sulphur fuels - with a maximum Sulphur content of 50 ppm.
Despite making significant strides in lowering the Sulphur levels in fuels, Africa still has a long way to go in achieving the 50 ppm target, as implementation and enforcement of regionally agreed standards at national level is still lagging. It is against this backdrop that UNEP and the Netherlands government co-organized a two-day high-level African Petroleum Ministers meeting on 29-30 November 2022. The objective of the meeting was to discuss progress to cleaner fuels, and agree on how to fast track the implementation of low Sulphur fuels in the continent by 2023. The adoption of cleaner fuels is considered an important first step to the promotion of cleaner vehicles in the continent.
Even as the world moves to electric mobility, cleaner fuels and cleaner conventional engine vehicle standards are viewed as an important intermediary solution to low carbon mobility in Africa. The meeting made bold recommendations to shift the continent to low Sulphur fuels by 1 July 2023 for fuel imports into the continent, with refineries expected to upgrade within regionally agreed timelines to produce low Sulphur fuels. The adoption and enforcement of EURO 4/IV vehicle emission standards for both new and used vehicles as the next step was also recommended. 