Sustainable Transport in Africaby | 21-08-2016 07:45 |
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Africa must achieve sustainable transport in its effort to contribute to global carbon emission reduction and the goal of limiting global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius, while urging efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The transport sector accounts for over 90% of primary oil demand and is responsible for 23% of energy-related CO2 emissions. Africa has comparably low CO2 emissions from transport: 215kg of CO2/per capita in 2008, which is 25 times lower than the world average. However this figure is expected to increase with the rise in Africa?s total oil demand. The new joint statement by the multilateral development banks commits US$175bn in financing over 10 years for sustainable transport. The AfDB invested more than US$1.7bn in 2013 in the sector with the intention of increasing the focus on developing sound urban transport systems, greater modal shifts from motorised transport and greener sources of energy in the years to come. In mid2013, Imperial Cargo solutions introduced a Carbon Footprint Reduction Initiative which reduced their water consumption during operations by 64% while saving about 10,000 USD in electricity. Fiat Group Automobiles and Chrysler South Africa also became a green transport sector with the implementation of a recycling programme. Following 2010 to 2016, there have been rising news in the interest of the few known commercial taxi companies to divert from solely depending on Petrol or Diesel but also including a more eco-friendly fuel – Liquefied Petroleum Gas - a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as fuel in vehicles. It burns more cleanly than petrol.
Managing Director of The Green Cab explains that LPG?s percentage reduction in harmful emissions, as compared to petrol, is 75% less for carbon monoxide 85% less for hydrocarbon 40% less for oxide and nitrogen and about 10% less for carbon dioxide. Biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide emissions between 30% and 50%, depending on the percentage of used cooking oil in the blend. Two years after this good green transport was established, the Managing Director of Green Cab was given a spotlight and named among top women in Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. This proud accolade is awarded to women who inspire, innovate and ignite the MICE sector of business. Now, when you visit Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and other African countries, there is a wide blend of commercial vehicles running on LPG. Although Petrol and Diesel still dominate the vehicle fuel sector, the prospect of biodiesel and LPG taking over or halving vehicle fuel is promising as academia and researchers are continuously testing the efficient production of biodiesel using some plant species such as the Jatropha curcus. In the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, during the 2014 Recycle Up – Ghana event by Technology without Borders, a senior researcher in the university mentioned to me how he is researching into turning plastic waste into fuel through anaerobic combustion. In the 2016 edition of the Recycle Up – Ghana event, young senior high school students had been trained to convert plastic to fuel. In other parts of the globe where people can afford electric and driverless cars, it is a good outlook for carbon reduction. In Africa, where the average working adult cannot even afford a four wheel drive, it is very important that consumers resort to LPG and bio-fuel. Sustainable transport will be achieved in Africa too.
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