Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study

The study establishes a baseline for Zambia's GHG emissions, dominated by energy and land-use activities, and proposes mitigation strategies. In the energy sector, the most cost-effective options include improved vehicle maintenance, ethanol blending, and the adoption of electric and improved charcoal stoves. In the forestry sector, natural regeneration is identified as the most sustainable and least costly method to increase forest cover. The report projects that implementing these measures could reduce total CO2 emissions by 12.47% by 2010 and 18.27% by 2030 compared to the baseline scenario. However, implementation is hindered by a lack of financial resources for both the government and low-income citizens.

• Zambia's total energy demand is projected to increase from 198.29 million GJ in 1995 to 322.61 million GJ by 2010 and 653.10 million GJ by 2030 under the baseline scenario.
• Household energy consumption is the dominant sector, accounting for 66% of total energy consumption in 1995, with firewood and charcoal combined representing 97% of total household energy use in 1990.
• Under the mitigation scenario, total CO2 emissions are projected to be reduced by 12.47% in 2010 and 18.27% in 2030 compared to the baseline.
• Most energy sector mitigation options have negative costs, meaning they provide a net gain to the economy; the most cost-effective are improved maintenance of diesel (-1,126 US$/tonCO2) and petrol (-474.0 US$/tonCO2) vehicles.
• In the forestry sector, natural regeneration is the most cost-effective and sustainable approach to increasing forest cover, with a negative investment cost of -0.04 US$ per tonne of CO2 saved.
• The study identifies a significant gap between electrification and the actual use of electric stoves; while 22% of households are projected to be electrified by 2010, only 14% are expected to use electric stoves due to the high cost of the appliance (US$50).
• Deforestation in Zambia is primarily driven by shifting agriculture (53.6%) and semi-permanent agriculture (23.7%).
• The total estimated investment cost for the identified mitigation projects in the energy and forest sectors is slightly over US$500 million.
• Zambia's electricity supply is expected to be outstripped by demand by the year 2012, necessitating new plants such as the Kafue Lower Project (450 MW) and Itezhi-Tezhi project (80 MW).

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (1999). Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study. https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/Zambia.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study. 1999. https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/Zambia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study |date=January 1999 |url=https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/Zambia.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute1999climate, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {1999}, month = jan, url = {https://cdn.leap.sei.org/documents/Zambia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }