Democratic Republic of Congo: Greenhouse gas emissions baseline projection

This report provides a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions baseline projection for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 1990 to 2030. It establishes a business-as-usual (BAU) reference scenario across seven sectors—agriculture, land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy supply, energy demand, transportation, industrial processes, and waste—to help the DRC identify and design nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs).

• In 2010, the agriculture sector was the largest source of non-LULUCF greenhouse gas emissions, representing approximately 56 per cent of the total, primarily driven by livestock emissions.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo transitioned from being a significant net carbon sink in 2000, with net emissions of -96.5 MTCO2e, to a net emitter by 2010, with net emissions of 17.1 MTCO2e, when including the LULUCF sector.
• Non-LULUCF emissions in 2010 totaled 28.6 MTCO2e, with the primary contributors being agriculture (16.03 MT), energy demand (7.41 MT), and waste (3.02 MT).
• The LULUCF sector is characterized by high uncertainty; while it acted as a net sink between 2000 and 2010, projections suggest it will become a net source, with emissions rising to 400 MTCO2e by 2030.
• Energy demand emissions are primarily composed of methane and nitrous oxide resulting from biomass combustion, accounting for 25.9 per cent of non-LULUCF emissions in 2010.
• The electricity generation sector relies overwhelmingly on hydropower, with approximately 2,500 MW of hydro power installed in 2010 compared to only 37 MW of thermal power plants.
• Baseline projections for petroleum product consumption in the transportation and energy demand sectors assume a total growth rate of 6.1 per cent per year, derived from a 7.1 per cent GDP growth forecast minus a 1 per cent autonomous energy efficiency improvement.

APA

Stiebert, S. (2013). Democratic Republic of Congo: Greenhouse gas emissions baseline projection. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rep_of_congo_greenhouse_gas.pdf

Chicago

Stiebert, Seton. Democratic Republic of Congo: Greenhouse gas emissions baseline projection. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rep_of_congo_greenhouse_gas.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stiebert |first1=Seton |title=Democratic Republic of Congo: Greenhouse gas emissions baseline projection |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rep_of_congo_greenhouse_gas.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stiebert2013democratic, author = {Stiebert, Seton}, title = {{Democratic Republic of Congo: Greenhouse gas emissions baseline projection}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/rep_of_congo_greenhouse_gas.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }