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Wealthy countries dump used cars in poor countries.
If we kept every used car that was turned in on a trade or a lease, the cost of good rust free used cars would plummet. That's not good for the companies that offer the latest in SUVs at $50,000, so they happily send them overseas where they can be appreciated. Unfortunately, that adds to global climate change in 3rd world countries.
Remember this next time a dealer offers you a two year old car for 90% of it's new price. Perhaps it'll be on that car you leased a couple years ago.
Rich Countries Are Sending Millions of Dirty Old Cars to Poorer Nations
Transitioning to cleaner cars—including policies to ramp up electrification—will be key to addressing climate change. But a new United Nations report sheds light on the need for more regulation on the cars we send overseas, too.
Every year, wealthy countries export millions of cars to poorer nations. The new report, released by the United Nations Environment Program on Monday, found that between 2015 and 2018, the U.S., the European Union, and Japan exported a combined 14 million used cars. Eighty percent of those vehicles were sent to low- and middle-income countries, with 40% ending up in Africa. In contrast, most new cars are shipped to wealthier countries.
As the owner of a used car myself (don’t @ me, public transportation in my city sucks!), I see how this could be useful for lower-income people looking for an affordable way to get around. But all these secondhand cars are actually a huge cause for concern. The authors analyzed 146 countries that import cars from rich nations and found that two-thirds of them had “weak” or “very weak” policies to regulate the performance and age of vehicles brought over from abroad. In fact, the authors found that 100 countries had zero vehicles emissions standards at all, and 61 countries had no age limits on imported cars.
These loose regulations mean that many people in poorer countries are driving cars that are dangerous from both a safety perspective and a longer term climate one. The average age of used vehicles exported to the Republic of Gambia in West Africa, for instance, was 18.8 years old, and a quarter of vehicles sent to Nigeria were 19.6 years and older.
*snip*
Countries exporting used cars should also bear responsibility to make the necessary changes rather than treating developing countries like scrapyards. So far, the sole major used car exporter to take on an analysis of these markets is the Netherlands. This week, the country made the results of that investigation public. They show that that most of its secondhand vehicle exports to Africa in 2018 lacked valid certificates of roadworthiness and failed to meet the nation’s domestic automobile regulations. Many of the cars were also stripped of their valuable parts, like platinum, sensors, and particulate filters, rendering them even less safe for people and the planet. Based on these findings, the Dutch government has pledged to update its regulations on used cars by next year, though it has not yet made specific promises.
Though the report doesn’t mention it, these important efforts should also be paired with global policies to stop using so many cars. The report’s authors expect that the global fleet of passenger vehicles will double by 2050, and that 90% of that growth will take place in low- and middle-income countries. But if all countries made efforts to move toward low-carbon public transit, we could begin to cut that fleet down and ultimately phase out using cars altogether. Richer countries like the U.S. which have historically emitted more carbon per capita, should lead the way and help fund this transition in countries with fewer resources. These policies would benefit all of us, because carbon emissions, like used cars, don’t stay within national borders.
More here via Jalopnik:
https://earther.gizmodo.com/rich-countries-are-sending-millions-of-dirty-old-cars-t-1845498870
Transitioning to cleaner cars—including policies to ramp up electrification—will be key to addressing climate change. But a new United Nations report sheds light on the need for more regulation on the cars we send overseas, too.
Every year, wealthy countries export millions of cars to poorer nations. The new report, released by the United Nations Environment Program on Monday, found that between 2015 and 2018, the U.S., the European Union, and Japan exported a combined 14 million used cars. Eighty percent of those vehicles were sent to low- and middle-income countries, with 40% ending up in Africa. In contrast, most new cars are shipped to wealthier countries.
As the owner of a used car myself (don’t @ me, public transportation in my city sucks!), I see how this could be useful for lower-income people looking for an affordable way to get around. But all these secondhand cars are actually a huge cause for concern. The authors analyzed 146 countries that import cars from rich nations and found that two-thirds of them had “weak” or “very weak” policies to regulate the performance and age of vehicles brought over from abroad. In fact, the authors found that 100 countries had zero vehicles emissions standards at all, and 61 countries had no age limits on imported cars.
These loose regulations mean that many people in poorer countries are driving cars that are dangerous from both a safety perspective and a longer term climate one. The average age of used vehicles exported to the Republic of Gambia in West Africa, for instance, was 18.8 years old, and a quarter of vehicles sent to Nigeria were 19.6 years and older.
*snip*
Countries exporting used cars should also bear responsibility to make the necessary changes rather than treating developing countries like scrapyards. So far, the sole major used car exporter to take on an analysis of these markets is the Netherlands. This week, the country made the results of that investigation public. They show that that most of its secondhand vehicle exports to Africa in 2018 lacked valid certificates of roadworthiness and failed to meet the nation’s domestic automobile regulations. Many of the cars were also stripped of their valuable parts, like platinum, sensors, and particulate filters, rendering them even less safe for people and the planet. Based on these findings, the Dutch government has pledged to update its regulations on used cars by next year, though it has not yet made specific promises.
Though the report doesn’t mention it, these important efforts should also be paired with global policies to stop using so many cars. The report’s authors expect that the global fleet of passenger vehicles will double by 2050, and that 90% of that growth will take place in low- and middle-income countries. But if all countries made efforts to move toward low-carbon public transit, we could begin to cut that fleet down and ultimately phase out using cars altogether. Richer countries like the U.S. which have historically emitted more carbon per capita, should lead the way and help fund this transition in countries with fewer resources. These policies would benefit all of us, because carbon emissions, like used cars, don’t stay within national borders.
More here via Jalopnik:
https://earther.gizmodo.com/rich-countries-are-sending-millions-of-dirty-old-cars-t-1845498870
4 replies
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