Teams made up of WWF staff, students, celebrities and City of Johannesburg representatives will race from 23 Melle Street Braamfontein to Sandton using only public transport and electric or non-motorized transport. The race will take place from 9.30am to 4pm, but rather than racing against the clock, teams will aim to achieve the lowest carbon footprint.
Spokesperson for WWF which spearheaded the initiative, Louise Naudé said, “Private cars are the fastest growing source of South Africa’s transport greenhouse gas emissions, the gases driving climate change. We can tackle this through reducing the need for transport through spatial planning and location of facilities, making a change from using private cars to public, shared or non-motorized transport, and improving vehicle and fuel technologies.”
Naude added, “The biggest mitigation gain is to be had from private car users shifting out of their cars, and avoiding people buying cars as they move into the middle-class. The race aims to demonstrate the solutions offered by public and other low-carbon transport options and explore the City’s public transport system”.
“The race gives participants the chance to learn a lot from their experiences and each other. Knowledge gained through the Challenge will feed into WWF’s low-carbon transport programme, and may influence the plans of companies and the City, and individual behaviour. We can all make a real difference with our transport choices,” said Naudé.
Details: www.wwf.org.za
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