How are electric buses driving development in Africa?
How do electric buses drive development in Africa?
African cities face many environmental and health challenges, and in the context of global efforts to confront these challenges and shift towards clean energy and sustainable transportation, the city of Durban, South Africa, is hosting an important forum that continues from today, February 11, until the 13th of the same month, and falls within the plan to shift towards renewable energy and improve air quality, and aims to accelerate the spread of electric buses in African cities.
Based on the role ofEarth Guardsin achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and spreading awareness of its issues, it provides a comprehensive follow-up to this forum, highlighting the importance of the shift towards electric transportation, and highlighting the success stories and challenges facing this sector in Africa. Which contributes to supporting decision makers and adopting more effective sustainable solutions.
The United Nations Environment Program organizes this forum in cooperation with environmental and development institutions, and with the participation of officials and experts from 29 African cities and countries. The forum is held at the “Inkosi Albert Luthuli” International Conference Center, which was opened by Nelson Mandela in 1997, in the presence of electric bus manufacturers, investors, and technical experts, to exchange knowledge and experiences, and develop joint action plans that contribute to advancing the transformation towards transportation. sustainable, and discuss innovative solutions and challenges facing electric transportation.
Environmental impact of traditional means of transportation
Based on this goal, developing sustainable transportation solutions represents a top priority, as traditional means of transportation – especially those that rely on fossil fuels – are considered one of the largest sources of environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and according to the United Nations Environment Programme, about 95% of the world’s transportation energy still comes from fossil fuels.
Many people in Africa depend on public transportation that runs on diesel, which is often old and polluting. This problem is made worse by the high sulfur content in diesel fuel used in many African countries. Which leads to the emission of harmful particles such as black carbon, which is considered a dangerous pollutant.
In addition, carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels contribute significantly to climate change; According to the International Energy Agency, the transportation sector is responsible for 8.4 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, making it the second sector in terms of emissions after the power generation sector, and although trucks and buses represent less than 8% of vehicles – excluding motorcycles – they are responsible for more than 35% of carbon dioxide emissions from the land transportation sector.
The importance of switching to electric buses
In the face of these challenges, switching to electric buses presents a great opportunity to improve air quality, reduce harmful emissions, and promote sustainable urban transportation. Electric buses do not depend on fossil fuels, and therefore do not produce harmful emissions during operation, in addition to contributing to reducing noise and improving the quality of life in cities.
Some African cities have begun using electric buses as part of their sustainable transportation strategies, and Egypt is at the forefront of those countries. It has launched many ambitious projects, including the Green Bus Project, which began before 2019, and is witnessing continuous expansion until it covers most of Greater Cairo’s neighborhoods.
It also launched the “Bus Rapid Transit – BRT” project on the ring road, which includes operating 100 electric buses in the first phase, and aims to improve the quality of public transportation and reduce harmful emissions. The first phase of this project is expected to end in the first half of this year.
Another sustainable example is what Senegal recently provided, as it launched 150 electric buses operating within the bus rapid transit system in the city of Dakar, and all these efforts show that switching to electric buses is possible, and that we can rely on it in the future as a basic means of transportation within or outside cities.
Forum topics and objectives
The forum aims to emphasize the importance of these projects, and support the transition towards renewable energy by developing effective business models for financing zero-emission buses, by exploring innovative financing mechanisms that contribute to facilitating the application of this technology in African cities, and expanding the scope of its use. It also aims to accelerate the spread of these buses and enhance dependence on them on the continent level, by addressing the main challenges facing African cities in this vital field.
The discussions will address financial models that stimulate investment in electric buses, while ensuring their long-term sustainability, which helps reduce the financial burden on local governments. They will also discuss the available technology and infrastructure solutions needed to charge electric buses, and will present the latest developments in enhancing the efficiency of batteries and charging systems, in addition to discussing practical solutions for building an integrated infrastructure that includes charging stations and smart electricity networks, which is an essential element to ensure the effective and sustainable operation of these buses.
The forum will provide an opportunity to exchange lessons learned from cities that have already succeeded in implementing electric bus projects, as the experiences of these cities will be presented and the successes they have achieved and the challenges they have faced will be discussed. This allows the rest of African cities to benefit from these experiences and avoid common mistakes, and this knowledge exchange will accelerate the pace of transformation towards electric transportation on the African continent.
In addition, he will discuss the social and economic benefits of switching to electric buses, including improving air quality and public health, as well as creating new job opportunities in the manufacturing and maintenance sectors, and will highlight strategies for a just transition; To ensure that all societal groups benefit from this technology, which contributes to achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.
Moreover, the forum will identify the practical challenges that African cities may face when implementing electric bus projects, such as high costs and lack of infrastructure, and will present practical and innovative solutions to overcome these obstacles; This paves the way for the successful and effective implementation of these projects, and contributes to building a more sustainable future for the transportation sector in Africa.
The role of the United Nations Environment Program
The United Nations Environment Program has played a major role in promoting sustainable public transportation in African cities, with a particular focus on electric buses, as the program’s efforts in this field began in 2012 with the establishment of the Climate and Clean Air Alliance, which aims to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon.
The program has since begun collaborating with African governments to develop strategic plans and conduct readiness assessments for the transition towards a low-carbon futurelow carbon futurein the public transport sector, and these efforts have been expanded to become part of the United Nations Global Electric Mobility Programme, which now supports more than 60 low- and middle-income countries around the world – including 15 countries within Africa – in the transition towards electric transport.
Challenges of proliferation in Africa
Despite the great benefits that electric buses can provide – most notably reducing emissions and improving air quality – there are several challenges that hinder their spread on the African continent, including: the high cost of electric buses compared to their traditional diesel-powered counterparts, and this high cost is not only limited to the purchase price, but also extends to maintenance and operating costs; This makes implementing this technology difficult for many African cities with limited budgets.
In addition, the weak infrastructure of charging stations represents a major obstacle to the spread of electric buses. These buses need advanced and widely available charging stations, which may be difficult to achieve in cities that already suffer from a lack of basic services such as electricity and water.
The lack of technical capabilities is a challenge that cannot be ignored, as managing and maintaining electric buses requires specialized technical skills that differ from those required for traditional buses, and this means that cities need to invest heavily in training workers in the transportation sector to equip them with the knowledge and experience necessary to deal with this new technology.
In the same context, there are social challenges associated with the shift towards electric buses. These initiatives may face resistance from some groups, especially those who depend on the fossil fuel industry as their main source of income. Some may also be reluctant to accept new technology due to concerns about performance or reliability. Taken together, these challenges require comprehensive strategies that include government support, cooperation between the public and private sectors, in addition to awareness-raising efforts to ensure the success of African cities’ transition to more sustainable means of transportation.
For this reason, this event represents a serious step towards the future of sustainable urban transport in Africa, as it seeks to accelerate the shift towards electric buses as an effective solution to the challenges of air pollution and harmful emissions. By overcoming financial, technical and social obstacles, and providing support to international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Programme, Africa can become a model for the transition towards sustainable transport, achieving economic growth and improving the quality of life.
