Hala Kilani
Daily Star staff

Corruption is the real cause behind increased air pollution produced by the transport sector, environmentalists declared during a conference at the headquarters of American University of Beirut’s Alumni Association.
The association’s public affairs head, Fawaz Merhebi, called for a protest in the event that the government fails to implement the law banning taxi drivers from using diesel as of  June 15.
The conference was held Thursday, a day after World Environment Day and almost a week before the deadline.
“The law is there and it took two years for it to materialize,” said Aley MP Akram Chehayeb, who is also head of the Parliament’s Environmental Committee. “This law should be implemented to (defend) the dignity of MPs, of the people they represent, to honor the position of the Parliament and to protect the public’s health.”
Environmental activist and journalist Habib Maalouf said that the pollution problem stems from decisions made by corrupt politicians responsible for the import of old, polluting engines in the first place.
“Politicians made a deal buying more than 50,000 expired engines for $50 each and sold them at $500 in the market,” Maalouf contended. “These engines lead to incomplete combustion of the diesel, which is posing serious health risks.”
Maalouf said an investigation should be carried out to expose the culprits involved what he described as a “deadly deal.”
He also said that electioneering politics led the Interior Ministry to distribute an “enormous” number of license plates for taxi drivers, which resulted in a surplus of taxis.
“This distribution was done without a plan,” Maalouf said. “For example out of 34,000 taxi cars, 20,000 circulate in Beirut. This is crazy ­ the capital cannot bear this much.”
The journalist said he and other activists had repeatedly warned politicians to keep environmental issues free of special interest politics “because we all breathe the same air.”
But, he added, “they failed to listen and pollution was the result of political bickering.”

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