About 150 new trucks will be given to cargo transport microbusinesses in several Chilean cities as part of a government program to remove polluting vehicles from circulation. “With the 'Exchange Your Truck' initiative, which will swap out 500 vehicles that are more than 25 years old between 2009 and 2010, we estimate a reduction of about 11,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year,” Andrés Romero, director of the Energy Efficient Country program, told Tierramérica.

The first deliveries took place Dec. 22. Depending on the size of the truck, the government provides an economic incentive of 9,600 to 24,000 dollars. The beneficiary must pay the rest of the cost of the new vehicle with a bank loan. The 2009 phase of the program cost 2.8 million dollars.