Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Researchers at AUC & University of Surrey UK Tackle Carbon Emissions

In the peer-reviewed ‘Toxics’ journal, they benchmarked levels of toxin, pollutant and global warming emissions and observed congestion levels in order to forecast emission levels in the year 2030.

Cairo Scene

Researchers at England’s University of Surrey and the American University in Cairo (AUC) have just published a new research paper that measures how to reduce toxic carbon emissions in the Egyptian capital.


In the peer-reviewed ‘Toxics’ journal, they benchmarked levels of toxin, pollutant and global warming emissions and observed congestion levels in order to forecast emission levels in the year 2030 if no actions were adopted to address the pollution problem that stems from transportation.


According to the United Nations, Greater Cairo is the sixth largest city in the world with a population of over 20 million. Its roads are used by 4 million vehicles, 60% of which are over a decade old. Air pollution remains one of the top five risk factors for disease and premature death in Egypt and is the cause of an estimated 10% of premature deaths.


Their findings concluded that better inspection and maintenance of vehicles would be the best option for reducing health-damaging pollutants, with a reduction rate somewhere between 35% to 55%. Fuel enhancements would also help cut some health-damaging pollutants, with the potential of reducing sulfur oxide emissions up to 91%. Finally, improving the public transport infrastructure would reduce all types of emissions by nearly one third. On the other hand, building more roads would likely lead to a 37% increase in emissions in the long run as it would encourage more traffic.