Cape Town rejects pollution report

Cape Town has rejected the findings of a report which claims that the city emits more greenhouse gases per capita than major cities such as New York and London.

The results of the study undertaken by the International Institute for Environment and Development, which covered 100 cities in 33 countries, have been described as exaggerated by Cape Town, which states that instead of pertaining to the city's municipal area it included the greater Cape Town region. The report included flight and harbour emissions, something which Cape Town objected should not be added to the count of individual cities but rather grouped into the national carbon emission statistics.

Contradicting the report's findings, the official figures released by Cape Town say that in 2007 the city emitted approximately 5.8 tons of carbon per capita compared with the 11.7 tons in the study. Despite Cape Town's objections, the city recognises that its carbon emissions are unacceptably high and says that it is in the process of implementing new procedures to combat pollution.

Among its proposals aimed at consuming ten per cent less energy by 2012 are turning off electrical equipment when not in use, insulating water pipes, using low-energy lighting and switching to solar heating.