Reduced carbon dioxide emissions by the Rea Vaya buses are but one of the potential actions to follow the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Mayors Summit.
The Summit, commonly referred to online as #JoburgC40, will be held in Johannesburg between 4 and 6 February. An official press release states that mayors and top officials from more than 44 cities will join global leaders to discuss their measurable action and future opportunity for action in the fight to address climate change and climate risks.
“Groundbreaking new information that shows the magnitude of city-level action against climate change will be released along with new data on city-lead climate change trends,” the press release dated 14 January stated.
The summit is to be co-hosted by the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Parks Tau, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes and the Mayor of New York City and President of the C40 board, Michael R Bloomberg.
“Hosting this C40 summit is a privilege for the City of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the African continent,” said Tau.
The vision with the Rea Vaya project, according to its official website on 24 January, is to get at least 15 per cent of car users who live close to the City to switch to using its buses, by which carbon dioxide (CO2) emmisions can be cut by 1,6 million tons by 2020.
“As mayors of big cities we have a responsibility to provide leadership and to share our experiences, best practice and capacity for innovation with the rest of the globe.
“We take action on this front because of our shared conviction that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time.
“In the end, we are measured not by how much we undertake, but by what we finally accomplish.”
Read more at the City of Joburg website
See updates about the summit between 4 and 6 February on twitter by the hashtag #JoburgC40, or through the live twitter feed.
