JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (ADV) – The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has officially opened entries for the One Planet City Challenge 2019.
This challenge is set to see participating cities being asked to show how they aim to deliver on the Paris Agreement by limiting their climate impact.
“By joining WWF’s One Planet City Challenge, local authorities receive a professional assessment of their current performance and advice about the most effective steps they can take to limit global warming to below 1.5 Deg C,” said Louise Scholtz, WWF South Africa’s Urban Future Programme Manager.
This new assessment framework for the One Planet City Challenge is set to be based on data from the United Nations (UN) climate panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
This is expected to establish the ambition levels required, taking into account each city’s level of development. Local governments are also set to receive guidance on how they could most effectively bring about reductions and advice on how best to adapt to the anticipated impacts of climate change.
The challenge is set to conclude next year, with an international expert jury nominating winners in each participating country. From those cities, the jury would then choose a global winner, with the most compatible action plan to limit warming to 1.5 Deg C.
South African cities that have participated in the One Planet City Challenge, previously known as the Earth Hour Challenge, include eThekwini which became the 2018 national winner; Cape Town which became the global winner in 2014; and Tshwane which has been the national winner two times.
During last year’s competition, eThekwini was deemed to be the strongest competitor in South Africa for its well-rounded focus on energy consumption targets and actions and for expanding its mobility offering.
© Bur-JHB – B.M / N.N – African Daily Voice (ADV) – Follow us on Twitter : @ADVinfo_eng
