Excellency Minister Altero Matteoli, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure-Italy
Honourable Colleagues, Ministers of Transport present here today
Excellencies, the Ambassadors and heads of delegations
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen
Firstly, let me thank our colleague Minister Matteoli as well as the Government and People of Italy for inviting us here, and for the hospitality we have enjoyed since our arrival in Italy. We also want to commend Italy for their excellent preparation and organisation of the Ministerial Conference on Global Environment and Energy in Transport (MEET 2).
The invitation to South Africa to attend MEET 2 is most welcome and affords us an opportunity to engage meaningfully on issues of climate change. Given the fact that South Africa is a signatory to both the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, it is fitting to acknowledge the work being done at these forums.
We don’t inherit the earth from our parents; we hold it in trust for our children. Therefore, discussions taking place here must be for the benefit of the future of our children. For developing countries, economic and social development as well as poverty eradication are of paramount importance, and are the first and overriding priorities.
We applaud this initiative to ensure that programmes to address greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from the transport sector are properly acknowledged and supported.
South Africa has just had the unique privilege and pleasure of hosting the world’s biggest sporting spectacle – the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which we hope that delegates here, and your citizens and teams had the opportunity to enjoy. The 2010 World Cup has been hailed by FIFA as the best World Cup ever. What may not be clear in the success is the centrality of transport to this endeavour.
Our approach to the preparation was that the tournament is more about Tran-Sport. South Africa invested a lot of time, money and technology into the transformation and renewal of our transport systems. We developed and rolled out an integrated rapid public transport system, which included a high-speed passenger rail service in Johannesburg, new and improved highway networks supported by intelligent transport systems and the latest information and communication technologies.
In this context of transforming our passenger and freight transport system and infrastructure, South Africa is mindful of our commitment to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, using transport as a catalyst. Key principles of our Transport Strategy include Access, Efficiency, Safety as well as fighting against Environmental Degradation.
According to Dr Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, “The issue of climate change that we have come to discuss here today is of significant importance to the African Continent. Scientific projections unequivocally indicate that Africa will be hit hardest by the impacts of climate change as compared to other continents. Among other impacts, climate change will fundamentally affect agricultural productivity, increase the prevalence of diseases and poverty, increase water stress and trigger off conflicts and war. Africa’s development aspirations are at stake unless urgent steps are taken to address the problem of climate change. It goes without saying that although Africa is least responsible for global warming, it is however suffering from the impacts of climate change. Therefore, Africa suffers most from the problem that it has not created! The climate change challenge before us is enormous. However, Africa has faced even greater challenges in the past and I am confident that we shall prevail over this present challenge.”
Over the past three decades, greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from transport have risen faster than those from all other sectors, and are projected to rise rapidly in the future.
Africa has taken its destiny in its own hands to address climate change - one of the greatest environmental challenges presently facing the world.
Climate challenges - South Africa’s long term mitigation scenario
To understand the challenges we have in reducing carbon emissions in the transport sector, it is necessary to understand South Africa’s geography – not so much as a geo-physical fate that we simply have to accept, but rather, as a historical, political, social and economic construct that, therefore, can (and must) be transformed, however difficult that might prove to be.
Although there are major challenges for the transport sector, including an excessive carbon footprint, these are often symptomatic expressions of our spatial challenges. Transport, however, can also be a catalyst for changing space and reducing carbon emissions.
The Department of Transport (DoT) in South Africa is focused on moving towards a low carbon economy that entails all modes of transport.
In the Long Term Mitigation Scenario (LTMS), mitigation actions were considered in three categories–energy supply, energy use and non-energy emissions, each including all sub sub-sectors.
Energy supply interventions
In South Africa we phased out leaded petrol since 2006. This initiative is driven primarily by human health, environmental and air quality criteria, in line with the global harmonisation of fuel standards. South Africa has developed, and is implementing, a number of measures in the development and use of cleaner alternative fuels.
These measures entail high-level coordination with relevant government departments, investors and development finance institutions, to ensure a coherent and coordinated approach to the development of the sector.
In line with these initiatives, specific incentives and economic instruments, such as subsidies for biofuels, have been modelled in the Long Term Mitigation Scenario to ensure the accessibility of alternative fuel.
Efficient transport energy use
Our automotive sector would be profoundly affected by the long-term shift from the internal combustion engine to cleaner technologies, such as electric vehicles. Initiatives to commercialise a domestically developed electric car have been set out. This project will have broader spillover effects, including the creation of a legislative and regulatory environment to allow the operation of electric vehicles, relevant testing infrastructure for electric vehicles, local manufacturing for domestic and global markets, initiation of charging infrastructure and educational campaigns on electric vehicles. In addition to carbon dioxide mitigation, electric vehicles also have other co-benefits such as the lowering of local air pollution in urban areas.
In March 2007, the South African government approved the Public Transport Strategy to implement key projects that will enhance mass public transit networks. The first phase of implementation has been successful in major cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Our integrated rapid public transport networks developed as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup have accelerated improvement in public transport. South Africa’s Public Transport Strategy, which comprises a multi-billion rand transport infrastructure plan, is reshaping travel in South Africa. Effective public transport also offers substantial climate benefits, and has the ability to improve reliability and affordability for the 80 percent of South Africans currently dependent on public transport for mobility.
Freight logistics is the backbone of the country’s economic viability
A road freight strategy is being implemented to optimise freight movement, encourage appropriate cargo on the right mode and preserve the road network of the country, and decrease our carbon footprint.
We are also currently facilitating the revival of rail as main mover of goods will, amongst other benefits, reduce overall transportation costs and result in the decrease of green house and other air pollutant emissions.
Maritime transport
South Africa is in the process of completing the Maritime Transport Policy, which entails the development of the coastal shipping systems. The coastal shipping transport will complement our national land transport system, giving us options of including shipping in the mix of our domestic inter-port, multi-modal and intra-regional transportation systems. Together with rail, these modes should reduce emissions from our transport sector.
South Africa is involved in all key initiatives of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved standards and regulatory measures such as efficient ship designs and operations.
Aviation
South Africa is also an active member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and is fully engaged in efforts to reduce and mitigate emissions from the aviation sector.
Conclusion
Tackling the challenges of global environment and energy in transport is going to require enormous courage from world leaders, in government, the private sector and non-governmental organisations. You can’t test courage cautiously.
Together with the rest of the world, South Africa recognises that transport is a fundamental factor of economic and social development, with a great potential for increasing productivity and substantially improving living conditions. At the same time, we are aware that transport is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions which impact public health and the environment.
We believe that actions are required to address this issue, with the aim of identifying more efficient transport solutions while ensuring sustainable development in a balanced way. To this end, we look forward to constructive engagement with regards to capacity building, technology transfer and financing.
Thank you.
