Iran Produces Over 500 Million Tons of Greenhouse Gases Annually

The head of the National Center for Air and Climate Change at Iran's Environmental Protection Organization stated that Iran emits over 500 million tons of greenhouse gases equivalent to carbon dioxide annually, and it is predicted that if this trend continues, emissions could reach two billion tons by 2020 and 2025. According to IRNA news agency, Ali Rajabi announced on Wednesday, September 4, that Iran's situation regarding greenhouse gas emissions is not favorable, while the world is planning and moving towards reducing greenhouse gases, and Iran must commit to implementing programs to reduce these emissions. Previously, in the fall of last year, Mohammad Hossein Ardishiri, the director of safety, health, and environment at the Iranian Ministry of Oil, stated that if Iran does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, it may have to pay tariffs and taxes for polluting the world. This official noted that Iran ranks seventh in the world for greenhouse gas emissions. He mentioned some actions taken by the Ministry of Oil, especially in the Persian Gulf, to reduce these emissions, adding that countries' actions in this area will be voluntary until 2020, but after that, they will be subject to penalties such as taxes on oil, and the problems of not adhering to global environmental protocols may be 'no less than the problems of nuclear energy.' Reducing the energy intensity will reduce air pollution. Besides the issue of fines and high fuel consumption, according to a report by the World Health Organization, the annual cost of air pollution in Iran amounts to 14 billion dollars. Iran recently announced that it consumes nearly two billion barrels of crude oil equivalent energy annually. According to the World Bank report, energy intensity (the ratio of energy units to gross domestic product units) is twice the global average. Now, Mr. Rajabi says that 'if we can implement a series of programs to reduce air pollution by 2021, we will have reduced the energy intensity by about 50%, which is equivalent to five billion barrels of crude oil and will reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions by 1.8 billion tons.' Regarding the factors of air pollution, the use of liquid fuel in power plants and low-quality gasoline in vehicles have been identified as two main factors. Iran's power plants, with a low efficiency of 37%, contribute about 40% to the country's air pollution. Last year, Iranian power plants consumed 50 billion cubic meters of gas and 20 billion liters of mazut and diesel. On the other hand, Iran has only managed to distribute standard gasoline in a few major cities. Rajabi stated that mazut is one of the highly polluting fuels used in the country's power plants, and the government must ensure that all power plants use gas instead of mazut. According to him, based on a government resolution, the Ministry of Oil is required to distribute Euro 4 fuel for gasoline and Euro 5 for diesel within a 36-month timeframe, which is currently being planned and executed. Rajabi also mentioned that currently, 450,000 motorcycles are produced in the country, 95% of which are carbureted with Euro 3 standards, and only 5% are fuel-injected, with the pollution potential of one motorcycle equivalent to 4 to 6 cars.