Jasjit’s Cyberoughts

I was amused to read these comments from Yale environmental law professor Daniel Esty in the article “When poor people pollute - the Tata Nano and eco-crime” published in The Register UK, on Februrary 12, 2008.

In this article, Mr. Etsy said “It’s small, it’s cheap, it’s low emission so… the arrival of the Tata Nano, India’s new ‘people’s car’, has been greeted by a wailing and a gnashing of the teeth from the environmental aristocracy. The prospect of millions of the global peasantry driving, emitting and pushing up ‘our’ gas prices is a nightmare. It promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions.”

As per Tata, as reported by the wired, ”The Nano is cleaner than the scooters it will replace and claims the car’s catalytic converter cuts emissions by 80 percent. The Nano supposedly emits 30 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, well below the 160 g/km average of Europe’s cars and far less than the 130 g/km standard the European Union will adopt in 2012. Even if half a million Nano’s hit the road and each of them travels 5,000 miles a year, they will be responsible for less than 8 percent of India’s annual CO2 emissions, Economic Times reports.”

Going by the Tata’s statement on Nano’s fuel efficiency and emission levels, it seems that environmentalists concerns are highly exagerated.

However, refusing to take this statement on Tata on its face value, I did some research of my own and found out that:

1. Some of the largest selling cars like Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in US as per Department of Energy’s year 2008 fuel economy guide,  average 9.39 Kms and 8.96 kms/litre of petrol, in city driving conditions, with automatic transmission option. SUV’s which are very popular consume even more fuel. Compared to this most Indian cars average 15 kms/litre of petrol or more. Tata Nano is reported to be most fuel efficient 4-wheel vehicle available in India

2. Three-wheelers and and other unauthorized public transport vehicles running on substandard fuel (mix of Kerosene and Diesel) emit more pollutants than any other mode of transport in India and are responsible for polluting the environment much more than the cars complying stringent emission norms like Euro III.

3. In Indian automobile sector, cars are the most regulated product as far as pollution levels are concerned, so Tata’s emission figures are likely to be very close to actuals.

It seems our learned friend is more worried about the fuel cost for rich western consumers rather than Nano’s adverse impact on the environment. I am wondering what vehicle Mr. Esty uses …….

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