Sustainability appraisal of used vehicle trade policy options in sub-Saharan African countries

This paper examines the structure of contemporary vehicle mitigation commitments after lead gasoline phase out in sub-Sahara Africa. First, this paper reviews some of the leading domestic trade policy proposals (emission reduction actions) with regard to their expected technology impacts. Next, it assesses the options based on establishing benchmarks for measuring policy performance in curbing vehicle emissions simultaneously with core sustainable development priorities. Assessing these options identifies the key variables in designing mitigation commitments, offers criteria for evaluating different approaches and discusses the implications of the leading alternatives. This paper argues that a more pronounced dilemma of synergies exists between vehicle emissions reduction and core development concerns as the major players target emissions too narrowly. Finally, this paper sheds more light on strategies that could be employed simultaneously at the regional and domestic levels to enhance sustainable development as trade continues to grow and evolve. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008.