High Fuel Consumption Triggers Tehran Air Pollution

EghtesaadOnline: Tehran's environmental chief said fuel demand in the capital city is nearly twice that of Turkey, underscoring a series of measures to help ease air pollution in the sprawling city.

News ID: ۷۴۴۴۰۰

13 November 2017

"Tehran's annual gasoline consumption is twice that of Turkey," Kioumars Kalantari, the director of Tehran’s Department of Environment office, said without providing details, IRNA reported on Sunday.

Underscoring the role of consumers in curbing air pollution by using public transportation, he added that the high rate of gasoline consumption in the metropolis squanders national resources and pollutes the environment.

Iranians consumed an average of 79 million liters per day of gasoline between March 21 and Oct. 20, up 5.3% compared with the corresponding period of the last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2017), Financial Tribune reported.

Ali Mahmoudian, the head of Alternative Fuels Union, said in August cutting the price of compressed natural gas for domestic consumers is imperative to reduce gasoline consumption and imports, despite the rise in fuel production in recent months.

The difference in fuel demand comes as Iran and Turkey have relatively equal populations and number of vehicles on their roads.

"More than 19 million automobiles and about 12 million motorcycles are on Iran's roads," Abbas Akhoundi, Iran's minister of roads, said in April.

The number of vehicles registered on Turkey's roads surpassed 20 million in 2015, according to data by the Turkish Statistics Institute.

According to a national consensus earlier this year, Iran's population has reached 80 million compared to Turkey's population of 80.3 million.

Kalantari also noted that 26 official bodies are collaborating under the supervision of DOE to help improve Tehran’s air quality.

According to the official, the ministries of industries and oil should take measures to improve fuel quality as well as emission standards in new automobiles, while Tehran Municipality should help the environmental cause by expanding urban green spaces.

Iran is also taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint.

Majid Khodabakhshi, the governor-general of East Azarbaijan Province, told ISNA on Saturday that Tabriz Refinery has started the production of Euro-4 gasoline with an investment of $100 million.

The official announced that €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) worth of plans have been devised to convert products with low value added into materials with higher value in the province.

Euro-4 quality gasoline is distributed in eight major cities, namely Tehran, Karaj, Mashhad, Shiraz, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Arak and Tabriz.