TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AS A CLIMATE MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR THE GREATER ACCRA METROPOLITAN AREA (GAMA)

ABSTRACT In many cities across the globe, transportation has been a major catalyst for economic growth and for the progress of human societies. However, as an activity that is largely dependent on the combustion of fossil fuels, on-road urban transportation has fast become one of the most important sources of anthropogenic-induced Greenhouse gases (GHGs) which are known to contribute to climate change. The causes and effects as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate change have received global attention from policy and non-policy actors, including the scientific and academic community. Three broad climate mitigation strategies –efficiency in vehicle technologies, use of alternative fuel sources and travel reduction through land use and transport integration –have been proposed for the transport sector. Climate mitigation policy for the transport sector in Ghana has generally favoured the first two strategies. Thus, notwithstanding the burgeoning scientific evidence that has shown that developing countries have greater opportunities to significantly mitigate climate change through an integrated land use and transport system, the third strategy has not received the needed academic and policy attention. In the context of urban sprawl and long commuting distances between residential areas and locations of activity points in some major Ghanaian cities, this present study explores the ramifications of present land use and transportation systems on energy use and climate mitigation, using the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) as a case study.