How to Implement Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Options

The document argues for prioritizing public transport in South African cities to reduce carbon emissions, which currently account for 25% of city emissions, and energy consumption, which accounts for 50%. It identifies barriers such as fragmented management, safety concerns, and apartheid-era urban planning. Proposed solutions include the creation of Transport Authorities, the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, and travel demand management strategies like congestion charging and high-occupancy vehicle lanes. A case study of Cape Town suggests that a 10% shift in commuters from private to public transport by 2020 could save 148 million gigajoules of energy and 9 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2024.

• The transport sector is a major contributor to environmental degradation in South African cities, accounting for 25% of carbon emissions and 50% of total energy consumption.
• Public transport in South Africa is underutilized due to several systemic issues, including poor connectivity to informal settlements, an unreliable reputation, perceptions of slow speed compared to taxis, and safety concerns, especially regarding rail.
• Modeling for Cape Town indicates that achieving a 10% shift of commuters from private to public transport by 2020 would result in significant savings: 148 million gigajoules of energy (equivalent to 4.7 billion litres of petrol), 9 billion tonnes of CO2, and nearly R25 billion in fuel costs by 2024.
• Implementation of a modal shift is hindered by fragmented management, a lack of network integration, and outdated transport strategies from the 1950s that prioritize road construction over demand management.
• Apartheid-era urban planning continues to act as a barrier by placing disadvantaged populations on land far from formalized public transport nodes.
• To overcome institutional fragmentation, South African cities are moving toward establishing Transport Authorities comprising government officials, agencies, and operators; Ethekwini was the first to do so, with Tshwane and Cape Town exploring the model.
• The City of Johannesburg is implementing the 'Rea Vaya Joburg' Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, an unsubsidized project costing approximately R2 billion, featuring 325km of dedicated lanes and 40 interchange nodes.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). How to Implement Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Options. https://leap.sei.org/documents/SEA7.Public%20transport.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. How to Implement Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Options. n.d. https://leap.sei.org/documents/SEA7.Public%20transport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=How to Implement Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Options |url=https://leap.sei.org/documents/SEA7.Public%20transport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendhow, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{How to Implement Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Options}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://leap.sei.org/documents/SEA7.Public%20transport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }