Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 09/11/2009 2:48 PM
Millions of motorists may face up to three years in jail or fines of Rp 3 billion (US$298,200) unless they bring their vehicle emissions in line with government's standards.
The jail terms and fines are included in the law on environmental management and protection that was passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The yearly report on emissions tests by the government shows that half of vehicles tested failed to meet emissions standards.
"The law could be used to punish polluters including owners of cars that fail to meet emissions standards," deputy assistant for emissions pollution control at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, Ade Palguna, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Article 98 of the law stipulates that anyone who intentionally conducts activities that cause water and air pollution exceeding tolerable levels faces a minimum of three years in jail and/or fines of between Rp 3 billion and Rp 10 billion.
Article 100 stipulates that anyone violating emissions level will face a maximum three years' imprisonment and/or Rp 3 billion in fines.
The 2009 Traffic Law, endorsed in May, also obliges all vehicles operating in Indonesia to meet the government emissions standards.
The emissions testing would check pollutant levels including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds.
These harmful pollutants can cause adverse health effects such as cancer and respiratory infections.
Owners of vehicles who did not perform regular inspections and maintenance of their vehicles could be categorized as negligent, Ade said.
Indonesia has claimed to have adopted the low emissions Euro II standard since 2008, requiring sulphur content in diesel fuels to be kept at or below 500 parts per million (ppm).
The Euro II standard also obliges all cars to use catalytic converters designed to control the amounts of pollutants emitted from their exhaust systems.
"But many luxury and new vehicles still use subsidized diesel fuel, which contains about 3,500 ppm of sulphur," Ade said.
Subsidized diesel is priced at Rp 4,500 per liter, far cheaper than more cleaner fuels such as Pertamina Dex at Rp 6,800 per liter, or Shell Diesel for Rp 7,300.
"State-owned oil company Pertamina also produces cleaner gasoline fuels such as Pertamax and Pertamax Plus, but many car owners still prefer the to use Premium," Ade said.
Subsidized Premium (petrol) is currently sold for Rp 4,500 per liter, while Pertamax is Rp 6,600 per liter and Pertamax Plus Rp 7,200.
Meanwhile, Shell sells its high performance gasoline fuels Shell Super and Shell Super Extra at Rp 6,400 and Rp 7,400 respectively.
The ministry's study shows that out of 7,865 diesel fuel vehicles tested in 2008, around half failed to meet tolerable emissions standards.
Motor vehicles are a major source of air pollutants in Indonesia's big cities including Jakarta. A study by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) says regular checks of car engines could reduce energy consumption by between 3 and 10 percent; cut carbon monoxide emissions by half; hydrocarbons by 35 percent and particulate matter by 45 percent.
Jakarta is the first province to issue a bylaw on air pollution, which requires all private vehicles to conduct emission tests twice a year to meet emissions standards.
The Jakarta administration has repeatedly promised to enforce sanctions against private vehicles that do not comply with emissions standards, but so far none of polluters have been brought to court.
