West African Countries Ban ‘Dirty Fuel’ Imports From Europe – UN

Several countries in West Africa have agreed to tighten their air quality standards and end imports of high-sulfur diesels from Europe, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UNEP said that Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire agreed on 1 December to introduce strict standards to ensure cleaner, low sulfur diesel fuels and vehicles emissions standards, effectively cutting off Europe's West Africa market to export its dirty fuels.

Hopes are that the move will dramatically reduce carbon emissions, allowing more than 250 million people to breathe cleaner air, the UN agency said.

A September report by a Swiss nonprofit Public Eye revealed how European companies were exploiting weak regulations in West Africa to sneak in fuels with sulfur levels up to 300 times higher than is permitted in Europe.