The government has asked automobile dealerships to carry out emissions testing on its behalf, a request which the Bahamas Motor Dealers Association (BMDA) has said is feasible but will require significant investment by the dealers and will bring about "higher consumer costs".
This was one of the outcomes of a meeting yesterday morning between BMDA representative Rick Lowe and Minister of the Environment Kenred Dorsett, in which the two sides discussed the government's intention to introduce legislation that would allow for emissions standards for vehicles in this country.
In an interview with Guardian Business, Lowe said the meeting was positive, with Dorsett appearing to be open to dialogue with the sector over the wide variety of "complications" involved in introducing such standards, which Lowe added the industry generally supports.
"It was an excellent meeting but obviously the rubber hasn't hit the road yet. We expressed the requirement that we need to be on the same page with our suppliers, special tools may become a requirement; we don't know where this could end up," said Lowe, operations manager at Nassau Motor Company.
The BMDA representative passed on the message to the minister that the industry would like to see any emissions standards requirements "phased-in" in The Bahamas, particularly given the fact that initially indications suggest the level of standards the government is pursuing are "very stringent".
"He seemed amenable because he didn't realize the complications. Several of us have sent the standards (that the government is proposing) on to our suppliers, and based on their informal response, there's a big gap between these standards and where most states in the U.S. are, let alone where we are.
"Unofficially, (one of the car manufacturers) said 'boy, this looks very stringent'. I said it looks like they are looking at Euro 4 standards, and Dorsett seemed to nod in agreement. Some states in the U.S. are only at a Euro 2 level."
Given this gap in standards, an "overnight" implementation of higher standards could risk seeing the majority of vehicles deemed unroadworthy and noncompliant. In addition, Lowe has stated that even some of the newest models of cars being imported into the country currently are not in compliance with the standards, as their suppliers provide different variations of their vehicles into regions depending on the stringency of their standards.
In a sign that the government is looking to take a more all-encompassing approach to promoting a reduction in air pollution, Lowe said that Dorsett raised the issue of hybrid vehicle importation at the meeting, suggesting that the government would like to find out more about why certain car manufacturers have to date refused to allow the importation of their hybrid models into this country.
Hybrid cars are those which can use both fuel and electricity as sources of power, and are considered to be a much "greener" alternative to traditional vehicles.
"He wants a position from our suppliers on why all of us can't get hybrids. The manufacturers claim there are a lot of issues stopping them from sending them to The Bahamas," said Lowe.
At present, while Toyota does allow the importation of its hybrid car models to The Bahamas, neither Honda or Chevrolet do.
In addition, Lowe said that the motor dealerships' concerns about a need to encourage fuel suppliers to bring in higher quality, low sulphur fuel, which not only benefits the environment but is also needed to operate some of the more advanced motor vehicles on the market, was raised with the minister in the meeting.
"I brought that up and he understood," said the businessman.
In an interview with Guardian Business when the emissions standards plan was first announced by the government, Bahamas Bus and Truck General Manager Ben Albury said that the government must take steps to address the issue of fuel quality if it is truly committed to reducing air pollution in The Bahamas.
Lowe said that Dorsett requested a formal response from the BMDA to the emissions standards legislation. The dealers are now waiting on formal responses from their suppliers before they provide that feedback.

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