THE Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority is banking on a new Green Freight Strategy to transform the corridor into a sustainable and climate-resilient passage by 2050.
This comes as Kenya is identified as the biggest contributor to emissions along the 1,700 kilometre-long Norther Corridor which runs between Mombasa, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC–the main trade route in the East African region.
A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) backed emissions baseline survey carried out for the member States of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda revealed that road freight emissions along the corridor routes reached 3.76 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent last year.
Kenya accounted for the biggest amount at 2.59 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, Uganda 0.83 million while Rwanda accounts for 0.34 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
“The report identified key emissions hotspots along the Corridor routes in Kenya that is Mombasa-Nairobi 1.58 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and Nairobi-Malaba 0.93 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent,” NCTTCA executive secretary John Deng said.
In Uganda, the Malaba-Busia-Kampala stretch accounted for 0.35 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, Busia-Malaba– Elegu 0.26 million metric tonnes while in Rwanda,the Kigali–Rusizi route accounted for 0.28 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.
These routes account for 90 per cent of corridor emissions, consistent with previous high-intensity route assessments.
The surveys to establish emission baselines for the remaining member states of Burundi, DRC and South Sudan are underway.
Deng spoke in Nairobi during the eco-driving and smart freight training forum which has brought together stakeholders from the transport sector including fleet managers, truck drivers and regulatory agencies, to tackle the dual challenge of road traffic safety and environmental sustainability.
“We are equipping drivers and managers with tools to optimise routes, lower fuel use and ultimately reduce emissions,” said Deng,
“We aim to reduce corridor CO2 emissions intensity by 10 per cet by 2030, improve air quality, and pave the way for zero emissions by 2050."
The Corridor Green Freight Strategy 2030 sets ambitious targets such as enhancing fuel efficiency of freight transport by 10 per cent, reducing CO2 emissions intensity by 10 per cent, reducing Particulate Matter (PM), Black Carbon (BC), and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) by 12 per cent, enhancing climate resilience of at least 2000 km of roads, and implementing eco-driving training for 1,000 drivers.
