In an effort to ramp up efforts to reduce carbon emissions in Ekurhuleni, the city has released a new report which details by which the private sector can achieve this. The report by the City of Ekurhuleni, released yesterday, examines how the private sector can ramp up green investments and boost the transition to a low carbon future in South Africa.
The Green City Action Plan highlights how the city can unlock public and private investment opportunities to reduce its carbon emissions by over 20 percent by the year 2030 focusing on four key sectors: energy; water; waste; and public transport.
The Action Plan identifies priority measures that can be implemented to build a greener and more sustainable city. Once implemented, the measures can help the City of Ekurhuleni reduce fossil fuel energy use in buildings by 25 percent, reduce private fossil fuel vehicle travel by 20 percent, reduce waste sent to landfills by 50 percent and improve water security by 20 percent.
The Action Plan was developed as part of a wider engagement between the City of Ekurhuleni and International Finance Corporation (IFC) and supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Swiss Confederation (SECO). The measures identified in the report leverage a new platform developed by IFC called APEX (“Advanced Practices for Environmental Excellence in Cities”), which helps cities to quickly assess the most cost-effective way to incorporate measures into their investment and policy pipelines, to achieve targets related to energy, transportation, waste, water, and GHG emissions.
“The Green City Action Plan, developed in collaboration with IFC and SECO, supports the City’s pursuit of ambitious climate action. The Action Plan will elevate the City of Ekurhuleni’s mitigation goals and create a roadmap that will aid the City in becoming more resilient and aid in achieving the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050,” said Ald Tania Campbell, Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni.
The IFC’s Country Manager for South Africa Adamou Labara added: “We are pleased to have partnered with the City of Ekurhuleni and SECO to develop the Green City Action Plan. Through this plan, we are supporting Ekurhuleni’s ambition to reduce its carbon footprint and meet its long-term climate and sustainability goals. “By utilizing IFC’s APEX initiative, the City of Ekurhuleni is able to rely on robust, evidence-based analytics to better incorporate climate action into its investment planning, thereby shaping a more sustainable future for its citizens.”
The City of Ekurhuleni is home to an estimated 3.8 million people. Greening the city is not just good for the environment as it can also drive economic growth, attract private financing, and create local jobs. Similarly, to other cities, the private sector has a critical role to play in bolstering climate action in the City of Ekurhuleni and building a greener and more sustainable and livable future for its citizens. Ekurhuleni aims to become a carbon neutral city by 2050.
The Action Plan report is one piece of the City of Ekurhuleni’s approach to addressing climate change. It outlines city-level policies, investments, and planning strategies that can be implemented to reduce the city’s carbon footprint in high emitting sectors and ensure a greener and more resilient future. It represents a pipeline of green investments, for which private sector investment can be leveraged.
The APEX Online App uses evidence-based analysis to prioritize practical solutions that shape the green cities of the future. For more information about APEX please visit the website here.