BUJUMBURA August 7th (ABP) – Almost all of Burundi’s car fleet is made up of internal combustion engines, the majority of which are second-hand and therefore old, which, as a result, constitutes the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Pierre Nizigiyimana, an individual consultant within the framework of the support project for the transition to electric mobility in Burundi.
According to him, the car fleet in Burundi, whose total is 72,214 as of December 31, 2022, is dominated by 34,069 cars (47.17%); motorcycles and tricycles 16,479 (22.82%); Jeeps 10,637 (14.73%) and the rest 1,104 (15.28%).
In terms of vehicle age, 19,867 (27.5%) are between 20 and 50+; 31,338 (43.4%) are between 11 and 19 years old. In addition, 8449 (11.7%), of which 4576 are motorcycles and tricycles, are between 5 and 10 years old, vehicles of less than 5 years old number 12,560 (17.4%) of which 9959 are motorcycles and tricycles. About 2,500 vehicles, including 2,111, are between 31 and 40 years old; 133 between 41-50 years old and 288 which are 50 years old and over, circulate on the territory.
Speaking about the inconveniences caused by that dilapidated car fleet and made up of internal combustion engines on the environment, he indicated that the combustion of fuel is accompanied by polluting emissions and greenhouse gases, which can affect the environment and human health.
In addition, high fuel costs, congestion and road deaths are clear indicators of the impacts of internal combustion engine transport, he added. According to him, the environmental impacts of internal-combustion vehicles are the many direct and indirect effects (for example of lead in gasoline) of vehicles throughout their life cycle, as well as of road infrastructures. Those effects are local (for example, noise) and global (for example, on the Earth’s atmosphere), which requires, as the United Nations has wished, a regulated and harmonized approach at national and regional level and an inter-State cooperation.
To that end, Mr. Nizigiyimana calls for electric mobility which is not aggressive to the environment and human health. “Burundi cannot remain indifferent to weather variations, it would be better to join the global movement towards electric mobility, in order to make the country ecologically healthy and ensure a clean and sustainable transport system”, he declares.
The consultant believes that it is therefore imperative that Burundi ceases to be a dumping ground for used thermal vehicles with harmful impacts on the environment and health, in order to embrace E-mobility.