Energy sustainability and carbon dioxide emissions mitigation Options for South Africa’s Road Transport Sector

Abstract

Abstract Background The transport sector in South Africa is responsible for around 11% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, with road transport contributing an overwhelming 90% of this total, as noted by the South African Green Transport Energy of South Africa. As part of its commitment to global climate pacts, South Africa aims to reduce emissions from its road transport sector. Yet, studies focused on reducing energy consumption and related emissions in this sector have been sparse. Results Utilizing a bottom-up accounting modelling framework, this research investigated five low-carbon transition scenarios alongside a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario for road transport. These scenarios comprised Fuel and Technology Switching (FTS), Modal Shift (MS), Logistics Improvement (LI), Energy Efficient (EEF), and a Combined Mitigation (CMT). The BAU scenario was established as a benchmark to demonstrate energy demand and emissions in the absence of changes to current practices or policies. According to our model, under the BAU scenario, there will be a 61% surge in final energy demand, from 769 petajoules (PJ) in 2020 to 1240 PJ by 2050, accompanied by a proportional increase in emissions. The study revealed that the implementation of any of the alternative low-carbon scenarios could yield a reduced energy demand by 2050. Significantly, a combined approach, integrating multiple low-carbon policies, can achieve more substantial reductions in energy demand and CO2 emissions than applying single policies separately. Conclusions This study emphasizes the importance of crafting province-specific solutions, acknowledging that challenges and contexts vary between provinces. Furthermore, lessening energy reliance not only diminishes the nation's fuel import bills but also improves air quality and aids in achieving low emission targets.