EHCON Unveils Tech to Phase-out Vehicular Emissions, Targets Billions of IGR

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
Committed to green economy, the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) has unveiled vehicular emissions testing technology, meant to phase-out million tons of carbon emissions from the roads and improve air worthiness.
The technology, Integrated Portable Emissions Measurement System (IPEMS) which is the first of its kind to be used in the entire Africa, was designed to control emissions by connecting a 3DATX technology and software to a car while monitoring the process through a computer.
IPEMS provides gaseous and nanoparticle measurements with a proprietary cartridge system. It is designed with three sensor cartridge ports that provides an opportunity to customize each unit for your specific testing needs.
When fully operational, the Federal Government is expected to rake billions of naira as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), while saving thousands of lives that die annually from emission-related deaths.
Presidential Diary reports that the 21st edition of Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which took place in Paris, December 2015 produced the landmark 12-page Paris Agreement that mandated all 195 negotiating countries including Nigeria to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions to 45 percent by 2030 and attain net-zero emissions by 2050.
To achieve the UN target, EHCON in collaboration with 3DATX Africa kick-started the pilot phase of the decarbonisation project in Mpape, Abuja.
The technology will be deployed fully into the country by 3DATX Africa through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in collaboration with EHCON, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and National Council on Climate Change (NCCC).
Speaking at the media dialogue on Friday, the Registrar of EHCON, Dr Yakubu Baba noted that the decarbonisation project would improve human health and reduce carbon emissions from the environment.
He stated that the essence of vehicular testing technology is to achieve net-zero emissions target in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change
Baba pointed out that about 100 vehicles have been tested free of charge during the pilot phase, just as he expressed excitement that Nigeria is the first country to benefit from the project in the African continent.
“The beauty of the technology is that after identifying the problem, the company and council will come up with a solution to make all vehicles emission-free, which enable Nigeria to meet the global target on net-zero emissions,” Baba added.
While noting that the council recorded a significant milestone in the history of environmental health through the technology, he maintained that Nigeria would benefit from the incentive that is within the UN framework.
The registrar said that EHCON reached an agreement with the company in four areas such as research, development, capacity building and advocacy.
He hinted that through capacity building, over 40, 000 Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) across the country would be trained on how to use the technology.
Baba informed that advocacy would provide ample opportunity for Nigerians to ascertain the road worthiness of their vehicles during assessment and inspection.
The General Manager of 3DATX Corporation, Mr Matthew Suleiman was optimistic that Nigeria would rake billions of revenue from the project.
He noted that at the end of the pilot project, all the partners (government and private sector) would ascertain the cost of testing any vehicle, saying that the technology is reliable in measuring carbon emissions.
Suleiman noted that each vehicle could be tested once annually whether it uses gas or petrol except for electric vehicles that are emission-free.
He stated that while running test, the technology would detect carbon and sulphur emitting from a vehicle depending on the configuration of the devices.
For a successful tetsing of a vehicle, he said that: “The entire system is controlled while connected to the laptop, so the software will reveal real time the emissions coming out from the car.”