Fossil fuel responsible for 80% of air pollution: Mayor Taposh
Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh yesterday blamed air pollution mostly on the burning of fossil fuels which, according to him, the people are barely aware of.
"We are not aware of the fact that the daily air pollution level is above the maximum. We only complain about dust. But fossil fuels are responsible for 80% of air pollution," he said in a seminar at Dhaka University, organised for the first time on Thursday by the university's Institute of Energy.
"We cannot tolerate dust. However, we don't pay attention to the various toxic substances that we are constantly inhaling, including lead, magnesium. The use of non-standard fuels is the most responsible for air pollution," said the South City Corporation Mayor.
Mayor Taposh said, "The oil we use is crude oil and it contains many dangerous substances like lead, magnesium, and sulfur. That causes the highest level of air pollution. Today we are one of the most air polluted cities in the world due to excessive use of low-quality fossil fuels."
SM Nasif Shams, director of the Institute of Energy, led the seminar where Wasika Ayesha Khan, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Ahsan Adelur Rahman, MP and executive member of Climate Parliament Bangladesh, among others, spoke at the event.
Students from around 150 schools, colleges, and universities of Dhaka participated in the "Sustainable Energy Week 2023."
The week-long event ended with the closing seminar on Thursday.