In the project the Wuppertal Institute supports the TRANSfer project run by GIZ to develop a Sustainable Urban Transport (SUT) Programme in South Africa as a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA).

Transport is a significant contributor to South Africa’s GHG emissions. The Ministry of Transport aims at achieving modal shifts from cars to public transport, switching to cleaner fuels and adopting new technologies such as electric vehicles, while making cities friendlier for cyclists and pedestrians. To unfold the mitigation potential the transport sector has been put at the core of the National Climate Change Response Flagship programme. The objective of the NAMA is to establish a "Sustainable Urban Transport (SUT) Programme". The Programme envisions promoting the implementation of SUT measures (Avoid - Shift - Improve) at local level that align with national goals. The SUT Programme will bridge the gap between the policy making at the national level and the implementation at the local level.

The TRANSfer project supports the government of South Africa to develop the SUT Programme, to register it as a NAMA for recognition and to approach national and international funding sources.

The Wuppertal Institute assists the activities in developing the SUT Programme and preparing a Full NAMA Concept Document. In cooperation with GIZ, WI conducts workshops with national and local representatives in SA and interviews stakeholders to develop the SUT Programme. Information needed for the Concept Document are extracted and reviewed based on existing documentations and reports. Supplementary information is collected in cooperation with GIZ and local partners. The inputs are complied to prepare the Full NAMA Concept Document, which is refined in an iterative process with the partners.

The drafted Full NAMA Concept Document is an important step to enable the South African government supported by the TRANSfer-project to register the SUT Programme as a NAMA with the UNFCCC for recognition and requesting external support.

The TRANSfer project is run by GIZ and funded by the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conversation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) under the International Climate Initiative. Its objective is to support developing countries to develop and implement climate change mitigation strategies in the transport sector as NAMAs.