Johannesburg Sustainability Doc
Cities and Sustainability: Johannesburg, South Africa
Report for the Johannesburg City Government on Sustainability through reducing carbon emissions
Introduction:
The purpose of this report is to advise the Johannesburg City Government on ways to reduce carbon emissions within the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg City (Joburg) is listed as a participant with the C40 Cities initiative, in an effort to tackle the environmental issues of global warming and climate change. This initiative was established as a leadership programme from representatives from major cities around the world, and aims to be at the forefront in encouraging sustainable practices in our urban areas (c40cities online, 2011). It is important then to clearly define what sustainability is. From information provided in the Open University course material, a sustainable city is an urban environment in which it 's inhabitants lead fulfilling lives and are able to meet their material and social needs without damaging the environment it co-exists with (The Open University, Block 6, 2010. p 22-23). Further to this a sustainable city should have a long-term perspective which allows it to produce it 's own resources. With this being said, Joburg finds itself faced with many, unnecessarily high, carbon producing activities such as a high volume of personal cars users and obtaining energy from older technologies and non-renewable sources just to name a few. These practices are typical of major cities across the planet and represent the unsustainable development of human activities without regard for the environment we live in. Taking action to promote sustainability, like the C40 Cities initiative, is the reason why this report has been drafted for Joburg. In particular this report will focus on carbon emissions, their sources within the Joburg boundaries and effect on global warming, and then present ways in which to combat the currently inadequate carbon producing activities that
Report for the Johannesburg City Government on Sustainability through reducing carbon emissions
Introduction:
The purpose of this report is to advise the Johannesburg City Government on ways to reduce carbon emissions within the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Johannesburg City (Joburg) is listed as a participant with the C40 Cities initiative, in an effort to tackle the environmental issues of global warming and climate change. This initiative was established as a leadership programme from representatives from major cities around the world, and aims to be at the forefront in encouraging sustainable practices in our urban areas (c40cities online, 2011). It is important then to clearly define what sustainability is. From information provided in the Open University course material, a sustainable city is an urban environment in which it 's inhabitants lead fulfilling lives and are able to meet their material and social needs without damaging the environment it co-exists with (The Open University, Block 6, 2010. p 22-23). Further to this a sustainable city should have a long-term perspective which allows it to produce it 's own resources. With this being said, Joburg finds itself faced with many, unnecessarily high, carbon producing activities such as a high volume of personal cars users and obtaining energy from older technologies and non-renewable sources just to name a few. These practices are typical of major cities across the planet and represent the unsustainable development of human activities without regard for the environment we live in. Taking action to promote sustainability, like the C40 Cities initiative, is the reason why this report has been drafted for Joburg. In particular this report will focus on carbon emissions, their sources within the Joburg boundaries and effect on global warming, and then present ways in which to combat the currently inadequate carbon producing activities that
References: The Open University (2009) U116 Environment: journeys through a changing world, Block 6, ʻCities and sustainabilityʼ, Milton Keynes, The Open University. U116 DVD; Block 6, Part 2; Role of political leadership: Mayor 's Speech c40cities Online, 2011. “About the c40 ”, http://www.c40cities.org/about/, [Accessed: 05/06/2011]. Metorex Ltd Online, 2011. “Metorex Carbon Footprint Report”, http://www.metorexgroup.com/cmsAdmin/uploads/20110509_MtxCarbonFootprintAnalysis.pdf , [Accessed: 07/06/2011] http://www.southafrica.to/provinces/Gauteng/towns/Johannesburg/Johannesburg.htm , [Accessed: 05/06/2011] Naidoo, R. 2010. “Plan to cut gas emissions”, http://www.joburg.org.za/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=4922&catid=1 20&Itemid=201 , [Accessed: 06/06/2011] Khalianyane, L. 2011. “Energy Effiency in Spotlight”, http://www.joburg.org.za/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=6713&catid=8 8&Itemid=266 , [Accessed: 06/06/2011]