Sustainable transportation in South Africa:addressing societal needs,energy and climate changes

Abstract

The transportation sector plays a significant role in climate change as it is often associated with CO2 emissions from vehicles and during energy production of fuels. The effects of climate change are negatively impacting diverse groups of people around the world and in South Africa which affects the societal needs of communities. Through desktop analysis, this essay aims to explore how sustainable transportation planning in South Africa can contribute to addressing societal needs considering current and future energy and climate change. This essay looks into the transportation sector in South Africa and how current energy changes are implicating societal needs of diverse groups and how future energy changes will contributes towards building sustainable transportation planning in South Africa. The key lessons from other countries identified in this essay includes congestion tax, shift to natural gas and the introduction of electric vehicles. This essay concludes that the success of sustainable transportation planning in South Africa is possible, however it needs to be backed up with strict policies and public education on the importance of sustainable transportation planning.