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Mr Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport has noted that the introduction soot-free buses would help reduce transport related air pollution and climate change emissions.

In a speech read on behalf of the Minister said most of the country’s public transport vehicles were powered by diesel engines and as a result of the high sulphur levels, emissions from these vehicles posed health related diseases to the citizenry.

The Minister said this on Wednesday at the opening of a two-day regional workshop to promote soot-free bus and sustainable public transport in Accra.

The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Transport and Ghana Health Service with support from the UN Environment.

The workshop brought together participants from Côte d’Ivoire; South Africa, Senegal and Kenya to support stakeholder engagement on the need to adopt soot-free public transport and transform the informal public transport to a formalized public transport.

Mr Asiamah said vehicular emissions and air pollution was a global concern due to its negative impact on human health and environment, adding that research has shown that there is a direct linkage between exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular diseases.

He said the use of gas was not new as the country had witnessed quite a number of vehicles retrofitting to run on LPG.

Mr Asiamah said public transport buses could be supported to introduce alternative clean burning fuels instead of diesel.

The Minister said the country relied heavily on second-hand vehicles for both private and commercial purposes and it was imperative an efficient public transport system must meet user needs in a sustainable, reliable and safe manner.

He said road transport continued to be the dominant mode of transport with more than 80 per cent of the services provided largely by private sector owners and operators.

He said the issues have direct implication on the environment and human health.

“The Ministry is committed to support any move towards greening the public system and that there is the need to develop innovative and cleaner alternatives fuels to reduce the country’s dependence on diesel fuel and its associated pollution,” he added.

Mr John Pwamang, Acting Executive Director of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the Agency’s key function was to prescribed standards and guidelines relating to the pollution of air, water, land and any other forms of environmental pollution.

Mr Emmanuel Appoh, Head of Environmental Quality Department at EPA, noted the need for efficient and sustainable mass transport in African cities and urged African countries to prioritize mass transit that would provide social, economic and environmental benefits to the citizens.