Review of Lead Phase Out for Air Quality Improvement in the Third World Cities Lessons from Thailand and Indonesia

Due to the rapid economic growth, and increase of motor vehicle ownerships in Asian countries, people are suffering from serious air pollution problems, especially in large cities. There has been a worldwide movement to eliminate lead from gasoline since the 1970s. In accordance with lead elimination from gasoline, the concentration of lead in air and its health impact have also decreased. This paper is an attempt to discuss about environmental measures in Thailand and Indonesia. From a point of view on environmental measures, the case studies show different problem and process of lead phase out policy because of different socio-economic backgrounds, the initial conditions of the oil industries and government capacity. Behinds environmental measures, the case studies indicate that the most important change driver is strong leadership to achieve consensus among different stakeholders.