Mauritius: Workshop on clean energy for Southern Africa opens in Mauritius

12 Octobre 2017

Balaclava, Mauritius,  October  12 (Infosplusgabon) -  A two-day sub-regional workshop focusing on cleaner and more energy efficient vehicle strategies for Mauritius and the Southern Africa region opened Thursday in Balaclava, northern Mauritius.

Mauritian Environment and Sustainable Development minister, Etienne Sinatamboutold the workshop participants that the protection of environment stands high on the Mauritian government’s agenda and relentless efforts are being made to tackle the pressing challenges of pollution and climate change in the island.

He highlighted that over a decade, the increase in the number of motor vehicles has led to a rise of 30% in fuel consumption. “Greenhouse gas emissions are being fuelled to a large extent by the transport sector and this alarming situation needs to be rectified”, he said.

The mMinister recalled that the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, submitted to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015, signifies Mauritius’s intention to increase green energy to 35% by 2035. “It is therefore vital to come up with mitigation strategies and action plans to achieve a cleaner, greener and safer Mauritius”, he emphasised.

On his part, Land and Transport minister Nando Bodha said the government’s objective to provide a modern and safe land transport mobility of people by adopting more energy-efficient vehicle strategies.

Some 80 local and international delegates are attending the workshop whose main objective is to address the causes of increasing greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption by the transport sector.

It will also provide a platform for the participants to share knowledge and expertise in order to come up with a regional fuel economy roadmap.

The workshop forms part of the Global Fuel Economy Initiative project which is funded by the European Union and the Global Environment Facility. The aim of the project is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use by at least 50% by 2050.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/RTY/GABON 2017

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