Durban, November 29th, 2011
How green are Africa's cities? A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in cooperation with Siemens provides the answer. Over the last year the Economist Intelligence Unit has been researching 15 African cities and has completed a study that compares their environmental performance. The cities are assessed in eight environmental categories, including energy and CO2, transport, water, sanitation, and environmental governance. The African Green City Index is the first known study to compare the environmental performance of African cities and their efforts to improve sustainability. The announcement of the results and release of the full study will take place on the 2nd of December at 11:00 in the Umkhanyakude Pavilion at the Climate Change Response Expo.
The African Green City Index covers leading cities from eleven African countries - Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia.
"With the African Green City Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit and Siemens are covering new ground", says José Machado, Head of Corporate Communications of Siemens Southern Africa. So far, no other study of this scope has been done for Africa. The study is part of the Green City Index series, which sets out to compare the environmental performance of cities in different regions of the world. Following the success of the European Green City Index in 2009, a study comparing the environmental performance of 30 major cities from 30 European countries (published at COP15) Siemens has sponsored similar studies for Asia, North America and Canada, Latin America (published at COP16) and now Africa.
"The results of the study will help the cities to better understand and tackle their specific environmental challenges", says Machado. "It will enable city stakeholders to make more informed decisions about how to reduce their environmental impact by for example, making their power supplies and traffic systems more energy-efficient, or improving their water supply and sanitation". The cities are assessed in eight environmental categories: energy supply and CO2, transportation, land use, water, sanitation, waste, air quality and environmental governance. At the same time the study highlights best-practice projects to enable cities to learn from one another. As an independent partner, the Economist Intelligence Unit ensures the objectivity of the research.
Cities must take a leading role in climate protection. They are responsible for 80 percent of the world's CO2 emissions and consume three-quarters of its energy. "Urbanization and climate change are two megatrends we can help address with our valuable and innovative solutions", explained Machado. Siemens is the world's largest provider of environmental technologies. In fiscal 2011, the company generated about €30 billion in revenue from products and solutions in its environmental portfolio - approximately 40 percent of the company's total annual revenue.
Additional information on the Green City Index can be found at www.siemens.com/greencityindex.
Siemens AG(Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare as well as providing infrastructure solutions, primarily for cities and metropolitan areas. For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is the world's largest provider of environmental technologies. Around 40 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions. In fiscal 2011, which ended on September 30, 2011, revenue from continuing operations totaled €73.5 billion and net income from continuing operations €7.0 billion. At the end of September 2011, Siemens had around 360,000 employees worldwide on the basis of continuing operations. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.siemens.com.