Legal Control of Air Pollution from Land Vehicles

Abstract

Thailand has been experiencing air pollution problems caused by various sources such as industry, mining, transportation, agriculture and open burning, but this study would focus only on the problems from transport, especially land vehicles. It is going to explore what law could be applied to prevent, solve and mitigate the problems in comparison with relevant European Union laws, which have had influence over the Thai law on this matter.
The relevant Thai laws could be classified into three groups. The first one could be used to regulate the production of vehicles, engines and accessories, which certainly includes the creation of automobile emission standards for new vehicles. Such standards in fact were adopted from the European counterparts, which have already been replaced by the new and more stringent ones. That is why the current Thai standards are less stringent than that of the European Union (EU).
Apart from the regulation of engine production standards, the establishment of fuel quality standards is equally important as the fuel contents could dictate what would come out from the tail pipe. The Thai fuel quality standards have closely followed that of the EU but they still lag behind the European, especially the regulation of Sulphur contents in the fuel.
The third group of the Thai laws could be used to regulate vehicle registration and its renewal as well as automobile use on the streets through emission standards. The vehicles the emissions of which do not pass the standards are not eligible for registration and its renewal until such a problem is rectified. In addition the violation of emission standards under certain statutes may entail criminal liabilities. The same approach appears in the EU but its emission standards are more stringent than that of Thailand.
Generally speaking, Thai statutes are sufficient to handle air pollution problems from vehicles but the revision of some issues, especially those in subordinate laws, should be considered if the effectiveness of the law in solving the problems is to be achieved. The revision, for instance, should include the announcement of the more stringent emission standards and higher quality fuel in par with the European counterpart, harmonization of standards under different statutes, and coordination in law enforcement among relevant government agencies.