Paula Kirk, Arup Energy and Climate Change Leader and Justin Wimbush, Associate, Energy, South Africa discusses why cities need to take the lead in tackling climate change, and why public, private and civil society partnerships will be critical to their success.

Cities have long been important centres of economic, political and social activity; they also have a significant impact on our planet’s health. Indeed, whilst cities generate around 80% of GDP, which is the lifeblood of the Earth’s civilisation, they also consume over two-thirds of global energy and emit more than 70% of greenhouse gases. Against this backdrop it’s logical – and imperative – that cities take the lead tackling the global challenge that is climate change.

Many have already made significant commitments to this: 228 global cities, representing 436 million people, have set greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and targets. These alone could lead to savings of 2.8 metric tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2e) by 2020, while the cumulative savings by 2050 (13.0 GtCO2e) could be equivalent to the current annual emissions of China and India combined.

Cities’ agility and nuanced understanding of their local challenges often means they are best placed to adapt to changing conditions and meeting targets. Navigating budgetary and legislative concerns, whilst also summoning the sheer amount of will needed to instigate these kind of changes is of course no mean feat.

To help cities accelerate and expand climate action, we need a better understanding of the challenges faced and how we are equipped to meet these. This is why Arup, in partnership with The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), is researching how climate change is being tackled in our cities, and how these efforts can be amplified. While there can be no simple answer to such a complex problem, one of the key findings from the first report generated by the Arup-C40 partnership is that collaboration will be critical going forward.

Collaboration: bridging the gap between cities and industry

From our experience, gained by working on climate change initiatives within cities, it became clear that an open dialogue between public, private and civil society groups is an unequivocal must. Reducing a city’s carbon emissions depends less on the strength or types of power held by city authorities, but more on how they leverage their assets and functions. By studying how cities have successfully worked with a variety of sectors and organisations, we can see the importance collaboration has, and will continue to have, in helping them achieve climate changes objectives.

Transport

Improving the efficiency of urban public transport will have a hugely positive impact on cities, reducing their emissions and improving quality of life for residents. A number of cities have recognised these benefits and are already integrating low-emission public transport systems into their infrastructure. In South Africa, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems have been introduced in Johannesburg and Cape Town – both C40 signatories. These provide fast, comfortable, and cost-effective public transport through dedicated lanes, off-board fare collection, and fast and frequent operations.

BRT in this context is seen as key to unlocking other major infrastructure investments as well as supporting the governments’ R4.3 trillion programme to re-industrialise the economy, through construction of new roads, land ports and investments in cleaner energy and skilled labour.

The city of Cape Town has developed an integrated rapid transit approach that focuses not only on BRT, but on a holistic strategy for integrated transport that incorporates all motorised modes of transit as well as non-motorised systems.  The ultimate goal of the strategy is to ensure that all residents live within 500m of a safe, reliable and resource efficient mode of public transport.

In the context of South African cities where sprawl and low density settlement are the norm, cycling or walking are often an essential part of a daily commute.  Thus non-motorised transport (NMT) networks are essential as the last mile of an integrated transit system.  The provision of NMT is also being actively pursued to reduce emissions, and promote healthy and more liveable communities.

Arup’s approach to the design and planning of NMT systems, focus strongly on the idea of seamless transit, thus relating and integrating NMT routes and facilities to rail and BRT stops and stations.   Our transport planning team was instrumental in both the planning and design of more than 30km of dedicated non–motorised infrastructure, including cycle lanes and pedestrian paths, along the West Coast BRT route for the city of Cape Town.

The West coast route is a picturesque and scenic recreational amenity.  As such, it was designed to provide adequate space, look out points and rest stops for cyclists of varying ability and provides both for the needs of daily commuters and recreational cyclists.

Special attention was given to safety, visibility and the comfort of both cyclists and pedestrians.  This was critical in ensuring take up in a country where one cyclist is killed on the road every 12 hours.

Further afield, other African cities are also beginning to see the potential of mass transit not just as a transportation concept but as an integrated land use and development model that can be used to pursue greater levels of access and equity in cities. We are working with Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and another C40 signatory, in developing Transit Oriented Development (TOD) plans for four priority stations along the first phase of light rail (LRT) routes, which stretch 35km across central Addis.  This city has one of the most rapidly urbanising populations in the world and until recently has had a largely inadequate, even absent, public transport provision.  The LRT has substantially improved that situation with the capacity to carry 60,000 people per hour.

The new infrastructure investment reflects a growing attitude from Ethiopian politicians and technocrats to make their cities more globally competitive and well-resourced both for residents and business.  This attitude is bolstered by its recent healthy economic growth and recognition as Africa’s diplomatic capital.  The Addis TOD project has sought to capture the economic potential presented by LRT as well as improve the living conditions of residents, 80% of whom currently live in informal settlements within the city.

Energy

With cities consuming the lion’s share of energy globally, improving their energy efficiency is non-negotiable. New technologies that generate renewable electricity are rapidly reducing in cost; solar PV panel systems are now cost effective for many commercial and domestic consumers – although the upfront installation cost is still a major hurdle to be resolved.

In South Africa, homeowners are blessed with lots of natural sunlight and becoming increasingly encouraged to install solar hot water geysers and enjoy savings of anywhere between 25% and 35% on their electricity bill.   Indeed, building regulations now require all new homes to be fitted with solar powered hot water or air source heat pump geysers, albeit with conventional electric geyser backup heaters for those very cloudy days.

With the cost of energy storage also rapidly dropping, the possibility of individual buildings becoming independent, or near independent, of the national electricity grid may not be too far distant.  At this point, we are likely to see a rapid increase in the number of renewable energy installations, which will result in reductions in carbon emissions.

Funding: think big not budget

While climate change initiatives sometimes come at a cost, budgetary concerns do not necessarily curtail influence – indeed, this is where collaboration is even more important. A prime example of this can be seen in Melbourne, where city authorities are working with the Australian government to provide excellent quality pedestrian access to all public transport stops, stations and interchanges. Though the city initiated the plan to improve pedestrian access, the government takes on the responsibility to fund and implement it.

A similar approach is taken in Amsterdam, where the collaborating model of governance is being used to improve the city’s fuel economy and reduce CO2 from motorised vehicles. To do this, the city is implementing new infrastructure and charging points for electric vehicles, while entering into agreements with private companies such as Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi, and car sharing schemes such as Car2Go, to facilitate uptake of the services.

These initiatives confirm that cities are capable and have huge potential to reduce their environmental impact, but having the right support structures in place is critical to their fulfilling this. The importance of networks, such as C40 and 100 Resilient Cities cannot be underestimated. These illuminate best practise and are instrumental in establishing and supporting collaboration between public and private companies and civil society groups, which will be critical if cities are to meet their climate change objectives and create cleaner, greener and more resilient cities for our future.

About Arup

Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. From 90 offices in 38 countries our 11,000 planners, designers, engineers and consultants deliver innovative projects across the world with creativity and passion.

We have over 650 staff in Africa, of which over 400 are based in South Africa.  Through our unsurpassed technology and connectivity, we can call on the international expertise of our colleagues from across the globe at any time.

We have worked on more than 20,000 projects and developments in Africa including commercial buildings, mixed-use developments, airports, sports venues, bridges, highways, railways, industrial development zones, oil, gas and energy projects, hospitals, prisons, arts and cultural venues, science and technology parks, water and waste projects.

We have provided or continue to provide multidisciplinary engineering, planning, project management, transaction advice and sustainability consulting services.

Arup is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers and technical specialists that makes up the heart of the creative force of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and industry. Good planning is at the heart of regenerating cities, towns and rural areas to establish long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability. Its international network of inventive and highly skilled specialists marries global factors, such as climate change, with local needs to create strategies that are efficient, exciting and practical. For more information, go to www.arup.com/Global_locations/South_Africa.aspx.

Issued by:                               Arup

Contact:                                  Charlotte Middleton

Associate | Marketing & Communications Leader Southern Africa

Tel:                                         +27 11 218 7885

Cell:                                        +27 82 377 1212

Fax:                                        +27 11 218 7601  

Email:                                     charlotte.middleton@arup.com

Website:                                  www.arup.com

Date:                                       30 September 2015