An Assessment of the Contribution of the Corporate Taxi Industry to the Nairobi County Carbon Emission

Abstract

The automotive industry is a big contributor to the global carbon emissions. Most developed countries have continued to research towards reaching an agreeable emissions estimate not only at the country level but further into respective economic sectors. It is even possible to accurately calculate a family’s daily carbon emissions and make emission friendly decisions. In Africa, beyond the continent estimate, it is impossible to ascertain industry or country specific footprint. This study thus seeks to bridge this gap by use of quantitative research approach to establish the emission potential of corporate taxi industry taking the case of Nairobi County. With the objective of establishing the growth rate of the corporate taxi industry in Nairobi County and further quantify the corporate taxi industry carbon emission contribution to the Nairobi County footprint. This study presents the industry growth rate, challenges experienced by the industry stakeholders, biases to choice of taxi vehicle, the industry preferences and knowledge of existence of other green vehicle alternatives. The study employed calculation based method and a generalised methodology to calculate the carbon emission and defends the null hypothesis. It is evident from findings that there is a consistent growth in the corporate taxi industry and an equal significant contribution of carbon emission. Using the collated information, the study projects the possible industry emissions scenario in the event the current status remains whilst presenting players-felt solutions. The study recommends government initiatives in setting up promotive and control policies and regulation to guide the industry towards adopting clean alternative vehicles to reduce carbon and automotive emissions. This may include control, incentives and public awareness program. Besides the Fossil Fuel Emissions Control Regulations, other sectorspecific regulatory controls like Fuel Economy Standards to encourage reduced transport related fuel demand through vehicle fuel efficiency improvements among other controls are recommended. The study recommends areas for further research work for instance the need to research on the emission streams from varied industries into Nairobi carbon footprint i.e. construction, agriculture, manufacturing, transport etc. The research hopes to create awareness and build on past works on urban air pollution in Africa and trigger further research in the area of automotive emissions.