An increasing number of people in developing nations are buying motorcars for the first time. The primary problem of this phenomenon is increased air pollution caused by exhaust fumes and the most viable solution is to educate their citizens about the dangers of polluting the atmosphere.
The most obvious problem associated with an increase in car ownership in emerging markets is the deterioration of the quality of the air. That is to say that as more people buy private vehicles they use fewer non-polluting modes of transportation, such as bikes and walking, and instead burn fossil fuels in order to power their vehicles. For example, it is estimated that 5 million new motorists will take to the roads in China in the next few years. This results in millions of tonnes of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide being released into the air.
A long term solution to this predicament is to educate young people about the dangers of polluting the air that we breathe. Children in schools could be taught about how to reduce their CO2 footprint by using public transport or car pooling. They are also likely to teach their parents about the things they learned at school and adults will also be influenced by this initiative. For example, school children in California were taught about the consequences of driving cars excessively and this has resulted in nearly 50% of people now sharing rides together instead of driving solo.
In conclusion, many more people in poorer countries are now driving their own cars resulting in huge amounts of greenhouse gases being expelled into the atmosphere and the best way to curb this dilemma is to teach the public how to use their cars more responsibly.