ICLEI Africa partners with WWF to profile innovative mobility solutions in African cities

African cities are urbanising rapidly, and with this comes increasing demand for safe and efficient transport to link the growing urban population to economic opportunities. Currently, congestion hampers the movement of people and goods in many African cities and hinders the socio-economic development that these cities so desperately require. Fortunately solutions exist, with many African cities pioneering innovative ways to transport residents in a sustainable and efficient manner. This year, Dar es Salaam, a long standing ICLEI Africa member, become the first African city to win the prestigious Sustainable Transport Award (1), most notably for the implementation of their Bus Rapid Transit System, the seventh such system on the continent thus far.

ICLEI Africa continues to work with network and member cities in Africa to explore and promote such solutions. One project that we are particularly proud of is the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) being implemented in partnership with WWF. The OPCC, which now occurs bi-annually, encourages cities to report on their ambitious and innovative climate actions, and to demonstrate how they are delivering on the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Previously known as the Earth Hour City Challenge, the OPCC has enabled ICLEI Africa to provide technical assistance to participating African cities. This includes reporting into the carbonn Climate Registry, completing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories and setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

The thematic focus for the 2017/18 challenge is sustainable transport and mobility. Eleven leading African cities (listed below) have signed up to the Challenge in order to showcase the actions being taken to move these cities towards a greener and more sustainable future. ICLEI Africa will continue to support these cities throughout the evaluation stages of the OPCC until the winners are announced in mid-2018.