Air pollution from motor vehicles: issues and options for Latin American countries

Latin America is among the most urbanized regions of the world with relatively high motorization levels compared with the rest of the developing world. The automotive air pollution problem in Latin America is essentially a metropolitan problem, resulting from rapid and uncontrolled urban growth, increasing traffic congestion, inadequate urban transport infrastructure and services, and an aging and obsolete motor vehicle fleet. The problem is exacerbated by the vulnerable and sensitive physical location of the urban centers in the region. The paper discusses the size of the population in Latin America at risk, the magnitude of health costs associated with elevated levels of air pollution and the contribution of motor vehicles to the problem. The regional motorization characteristics and trends are analyzed, including certain similarities with industrialized countries. As some Latin American countries directed attention towards automotive air pollution long before other developing countries, there is a large body of practical and innovative pollution control experience in Brazil, Chile and Mexico from which other countries in the region could benefit.