A look back on the “Abidjan meetings on Sustainable cities”

The Abidjan meetings on Sustainable Cities

The « Abidjan meetings on Sustainable Cities » took place with the aim of preparing for the  2020 Africa-France Summit, that willl take place in Bordeaux from the 4-6 June on the theme of the « sustainable city ». The goal of this event is to « offer innovative responses in favor of local sustainable development« , as stated by the Minister of  Cities from Ivory Coast on the 13th January during the official launch of these « Meetings ».

Abidjan is directly affected by the issue of sustainability in cities. In fact, this agglomeration is home to over 4,707,000 inhabitants and didn’t even exist before the start of the 20th century. The city has witnessed an unprecedented expansion in the course of migration and numerous human flows. Today, the economical capital of the country is rapidly developing and urbanising and is now facing many issues: urban planning, salubrity, or even the rehabilitation of certain areas. Recently, Ivory Coast has committed to reducing its emissions linked to transport thanks to advocacy surrounding better quality energy, as well as the shift from polluting vehicles to vehicle that pollute much less (natural gas, biogas and electric).

This event was therefore crucial for the host city but also for other for other actors from sustainable cities, such as the Mobility and Sustainable Transport coalition, led by Climate Chance in partnership with Paric Process for Mobility and Climate (PPMC), Observatory for African Mobility OMA, ARDCI, the Michelin Foundation under the aegis of the City Ministry of Ivory Coast.

For sustainable mobility in Ivory Coast: the Climate Chance coalition

The mobility and sustainable transport coalition was created in 2018 in the wake of the Climate Chance Summit Africa 2018 in Abidjan with the aim of contributing to the structuring of a mobility strategy in the capital. This project then gave birth to a roadmap « Low carbon in transport », built by the coalition:

« Improving urban mobility in Côte d’Ivoire is today an economic, social and environmental imperative, not only for Abidjan but for the whole of Côte d’Ivoire. Indeed, the other Ivorian cities, although much smaller than Abidjan, are growing rapidly and are essential relay cities to control the economic capital’s hypercephaly« .

« There is a need for local views on how to overcome the challenges for the transport sector in relation to climate change, taking into account the constraints of the entire transport ecosystem, » the roadmap states.

The « Abidjan Meetings » were therefore eagerly awaited by representatives of the coalition.

Find more information on our page dedicated to the « Mobility Africa » coalition.

As well as the roadmap « For sustainable mobility in Côte d’Ivoire« . (in French only)

The mobility coalition in Abidjan: presentation of the roadmap

On Friday 28 February, Sylvestre Kouassi, Director of the Observatory of African Mobilities, participated in a session entitled: « Efficient, affordable and citizen-oriented urban services and infrastructure« .  The event was moderated by Luc Gnacadja, Vice-President of Climate Chance.

It was an opportunity for Sylvestre Kouassi to present the roadmap « mobility and sustainable transport » carried by the coalition. Different actors of sustainable cities in Africa were present, among which Mr. Claude Isaac Dé, Minister to the Prime Minister in charge of the Coordination of Major Projects of Côte d’Ivoire.

Mr Kaoussi began by recalling the origin and objectives of this roadmap, which must eventually be presented to the government in order to guide the implementation of public policies. The Director of the African Mobility Observatory also explained that an exhaustive diagnosis of the mobility sector has already been carried out and announced a new deadline for the roadmap: the establishment of pilot cities.

« Today we are entering a new phase by collaborating with IDDRI, which will allow us to design the modelling of the roadmap strategy in Côte d’Ivoire ».

The cities of Bouaké, Cocody and Odienné have thus been chosen to test different mobility strategies. Workshops will be organized there and subsequently, the observations of the participants will be used to refine the objectives of the roadmap. The long-term objective is to be able to go further and further in developing strategies to achieve the objectives and priorities set for 2050, as well as the SDGs.