The first Green Freight Strategy in Africa has been launched under the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority. The Strategy was prepared by the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) through funding support from the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Heavy Duty Diesel Vehicles and Engines Initiative. It was launched at the 42nd Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Northern Corridor on 16 January 2017.
The strategy is very appropriate to the region as the Northern Corridor, which links six countries (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo), is the busiest corridor in East and Central Africa handling over 30 million tons of cargo through the Port of Mombasa and interstate trade per annum with an annual growth of cargo throughput of around 10%. In this corridor, road freight accounts for nearly 96% with the remaining 4% transported by railway mode, inland waterways and pipelines. These heavy duty diesel vehicles which handle road freight are a major polluter of small particulates –responsible for over 3.2 million deaths worldwide each year, as well as black carbon emissions - an important short-lived climate pollutant. With the scale of the global vehicle fleet set to increase sharply there is an urgent need to clean up transport modes in order to reduce energy use and emissions. It is therefore of paramount importance that the negative health, safety and environmental impacts be minimized through a green freight strategy.
The Northern Corridor Green Freight strategy is aimed at improving fuel efficiency of road transportation; cutting emissions of Particulate Matter (PM), black carbon emissions and Oxides of nitrogen (NOX) grams per ton-km by at least 10% and reducing by 10% CO2 emission intensity grams per ton-km, by 2021.”
The Strategy has proposed measures to reduce vehicle emissions –particulate matter, black carbon, oxides of nitrogen and CO2 emissions - improve road safety, and improve vehicle fuel efficiency.
In addition the strategy has set short term targets for the period 2016 to 2021 as follows:
- Improve fuel economy litres per ton-km for trucks by at least 5% by 2021.
- Reduction in Particulate Matter (PM), black carbon emissions and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) grams per ton-km by atleast10% by 2021.
- Reduction of CO2 emission intensity grams per ton-km by 10% by 2021.
- Reduction of road accidents by 10% per million truck-kilometers.
The strategy will further be achieved by addressing the vehicle loading, inspection and maintenance, improvement of infrastructure, sensitization on fuels standards, vehicle technology improvements, Advocacy and Sensitization among other things.
