Pakistan’s port city Karachi will bring in cleaner-running buses powered by a distinctly “unclean” fuel: cow poo, to combat the planet-warming emissions and providing fresh air.
With funding from the international Green Climate Fund, Karachi will launch a zero-emission Green Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, with 200 buses fueled by bio-methane.
The new bus system begin operating in 2020 which would help reduce air pollution and street noise, but doubted whether it would have enough buses to bring back to life the city’s ailing transport system.
The Green Climate Fund, set up under UN climate talks to provide finance to developing countries to help them grow cleanly and adapt to a warming climate, will provide $49 million for the Karachi project out of a total cost of $583.5 million.
Malik Amin Aslam, advisor on climate change to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, said the BRT system was the first transport project the Green Climate Fund had approved, and would bring “multiple environmental and economic benefits”. It would not require operating subsidies, he added.
The cheap, clean bus network will cater for 320,000 passengers daily, and will reduce planet-warming emissions by 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent over 30 years, according to project documents.
The new bus system was unlikely to resolve the city’s transport problems, but would be “a short-term relief for commuters and also help in reducing air pollution.