Greenpeace: Electric Cars Only Move Pollution from Exhaust to Industrial Chimneys

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Bondan Andriyanu criticizes several measures carried out by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to tackle the air pollution issue in Jakarta.

According to Bondan, before carrying out the measure, the government ought to annul the 2021 Supreme Court decision on air pollution. 

Bondan also criticizes two of the government's measures to resolve the air pollution issue, namely electric vehicles and scrubber installation for industrial chimneys. 

Bondan explains that electric cars will bear no result if the government is still using coal-fired power plants, another source of air pollution in Jakarta. "If we only highlight electric car usage without changing its source of energy, we are only moving the pollution from car exhaust to the coal-fired power plant industrial chimneys," he said.

Bondan believes that the government ought to prioritize electric buses and develop its infrastructure. 

Regarding scrubber installation on industrial chimneys as air pollution control, Bondan mentioned that it only controls NOX pollutants. According to Bondan, there are other air pollution control besides scrubber that needs to be installed, namely Flue Gas Desulfurization that filters SO2 and Electric Submersible Pump that controls particulate matter released by the chimneys. 

In addition, Bondan said, the industry ought to be obliged to install a Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS) to ensure the chimneys are registered to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Bondan also asks the government to release the baseline data of polluters to the public. The public ought to be aware of the sources of pollution and examine whether the government's measures are appropriate to resolve the issue.

Lastly, Bondan regrets that the government only takes action after the air pollution becomes viral and widely talked about. According to Bondan, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry already has the polluters' data at hand.

NUR KHASANAH APRILIANI

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