Decarbonising the South African Transport Sector

Globally, the transport sector is one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with most transport today running off internal combustion engines powered by fossil fuels. Global CO2 emissions from the transport sector grew by 8% year-on-year and rebounded to a 37% share of emissions in 2021 post-pandemic. In South Africa, transport is the third largest emitting sector, with almost 55 Mt CO2 emissions contributing more than 10% to the country’s national gross emissions.

This report details how the decarbonisation of South Africa’s transport sector can unfold and covers the suite of levers that must be deployed and trade-offs that must be made in charting a course to Net Zero by 2050 as part of a just transition.