It’s thirty years since unleaded petrol was introduced to Australian petrol stations as part of a national effort to reduce vehicle emissions through better fuel standards and improved motor vehicle efficiency. It’s a trend in vehicle efficiency that’s still continuing today, with positive effects for Melbourne’s air quality.
EPA and the CSIRO have found that vehicle efficiency is increasing at a faster rate than the growth in traffic, and they’re projecting that pollution from vehicle exhausts will decrease significantly over the next few decades — despite increases in population.
However, other air pollutants, such as particles and ozone resulting from bushfires, climate change and industry, are expected to increase gradually with population growth.
EPA Senior Air Scientist Paul Torre has been monitoring Melbourne’s air for almost 30 years and has seen the changes first-hand.
“When I first started with EPA in the early 1980s, vehicle emissions were a major contributor to air pollution in Melbourne,” Dr Torre said.
“We’ve seen Melbourne’s air quality get significantly better since then, particularly relating to vehicle emissions. However, in future, it’s likely that we’ll see more small particles and ozone in Melbourne’s air from bushfires, climate change and industry – and these are harder to manage because they’re coming from many different sources.”
Air quality can impact on human health, and elderly people are particularly susceptible to air pollution.
“What we’ve also found is that our growing population is an aging one, which means that in future, there will be a larger number of people over 65 who may be more sensitive to air pollution,” Dr Torre said. “That’s why it’s important that we understand what’s in our air and what activities are affecting it.”
This year’s theme for World Environment Day, Friday 5 June is Seven Billions Dreams. One Planet. Consume with care, which focuses on sustainability with a growing population.
EPA and CSIRO developed Future air quality in Victoria (publication 1535), a report that examines likely future trends in air quality between now and 2030.