NAIROBI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to promote use of electric vehicles in order to reduce air pollution in the country, a government official said on Monday.
Martin Eshiwani, director of road and railway transport in the ministry of transport, infrastructure, housing and urban development told a forum in Nairobi that standards for electric vehicles and motorcycles were put in December 2018.
"Kenya wants to move towards green vehicles so that it can also achieve its commitments under the Paris climate agreement," Eshiwani said during the Urban Mobility Summit.
Eshiwani said that Kenya has approximately 350 electric vehicles and motorcycles on the roads.
He noted that the government is considering implementing a number of fiscal and regulatory measures that will increase e-mobility in the country.
Eshiwani observed that most vehicles standards are geared to the fossil fuels that are most prevalent in the country.
According to the government official, the number of motorbikes licensed is increasing every year due to their affordability and are therefore an emerging source of green house gas emissions.
Eshiwani said that the infrastructure to support electric vehicles on the roads will also be required for a robust e-mobility sector to develop.
He revealed that data from the ministry of health indicates that upper respiratory illness has been on the increase in urban cities due to vehicle emissions.
"The high rate of urbanization coupled with a growing middle class is likely to increase the number of vehicles and so reforms are required to transit the country to a low carbon development pathway," he said.
