Botswanan workshop discusses opportunities for fuel efficient and clean vehicles

May 26, 2016 by Global Fuel Economy Initiative

Categories: In-country, Africa

On 22-23rd March, the Department of Energy hosted a national workshop to discuss opportunities for improving fuel economy and increasing use of low sulphur fuels in Botswana. Around 35 participants attended the workshop, including a range of stakeholders from the energy, environment and transport sectors. The meeting builds on a SADC regional workshop that was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015, and was supported by UNEP with funding from GFEI and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).

Both the Botswanan Deputy Permanent Secretaries for Energy and Environment participated in the workshop. They highlighted the issue of worsening air quality because of transport emissions in Botswana, which is at risk of continuing to decline as imports of second hand vehicles increase. The workshop heard that there is currently no existing national inventory on light and heavy duty vehicles in terms of their numbers, age, and technology and fuel economy. It was therefore proposed that a Botswanan vehicle inventory be undertaken to support policy development including harmonization options due to cross border trade. It also concluded that steps should be taken to increase usage of low-sulphur fuels.