Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Environment Mr. Tarek El Khatib, and with the support of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and UNDP, IPT Energy Center (IPTEC) organized a session on “Road Transport Sector and Air Pollution in Lebanon” on Monday, September 18th 2017 at Le Royal Hotel, Dbayeh, as part of IBEF 2017.
The session featured the results of the study undertaken by the UNDP climate change office at the Ministry of Environment for IPTEC in 2016 on the contribution of road transportation to air pollution in Lebanon, and its impact on our health. It was convened in the presence of Dr. Manal Mousallem representing H.E. the Minister of Environment Mr. Tarek El Khatib, Mrs. Aurore Feghali, the Director General of Oil , Dr. Toni Issa, President of IPTEC, Mrs. Lea Kai, project manager at the UNDP Climate Change Office/ MoE, and Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba, professor of chemistry at Faculty of Arts and Science at AUB, along with concerned figures in the field and representatives of the local media.
In his speech, Dr. Issa explained that this session falls under the partnership established between the UNDP Climate Change Office at the Ministry of Environment and IPT Energy Center (IPTEC) as part of the “National Campaign for Air Pollution Reduction in Lebanon through Efficient Energy Use in Land Transportation”. This campaign was previously initiated by IPTEC and goes in line with IPTEC’s objectives and IPT’s corporate social responsibility policy aiming at: conducting research and studies, raising awareness on this subject, promoting solutions with low environmental impact, encouraging the adoption of energy efficient measures and policies, promoting Eco-Driving, and promoting the use of clean, alternative and renewable energy sources, all of which are documented in a complete report prepared and distributed by IPTEC. Dr. Issa assured that air pollution remains one of the main focuses of IPTEC and he highlighted the importance of engaging the public through adopting individual initiatives which can reduce air pollution from road transportation.
Mrs. Lea Kai Abou Jaoude presented an overview on the results of the study revealing that the transportation sector is one of the main contributors to CO2 emissions and other criteria pollutants in Lebanon. She explained that although these emissions are inevitable byproducts of fuel combustion, their concentration is magnified by our driving patterns, the high rates of of congestion in cities, the age of the vehicle fleet and the absence of a proper public transport sector system. Much can be done specifically through revitalizing the public transport system, renewing the vehicle fleet, adopting eco-friendly driving patterns in addition to monitoring and managing air quality. Download Mrs. Abou Jaoude's presentation.
In her intervention, Dr. Najat Aoun Saliba mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2012, about seven million people—one out of every eight globally—died as a result of air pollution exposure. Dr. Saliba explained that several studies conducted at the AUB Collaborative for the Study of Inhaled Atmospheric Aerosols have found an increase in Beirut’s annual average levels of fine particulate matter (FPM) during 2011–2016 from 2.0 to 3.2 times the levels recommended by WHO. She clarified that in Lebanon overall, the concentrations of the most toxic PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), are three to four times higher than the levels accepted by the European Union.
Dr. Mousallem highlighted the importance of IPTEC's initiative in the framework of partnership between the public and private sectors, and asserted that several steps were taken by the ministry in this regard in the fields of research, environmental policy and laws, as well as the way to enforce these laws.