Climate Change Mitigation in Southern Africa Zambia Country Study

The Zambia Country Study, published in January 1999 by the Stockholm Environment Institute, evaluates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation strategies for Zambia. The report establishes baseline and mitigation scenarios for the energy and forestry sectors up to 2030, identifying low-cost options to reduce CO2 emissions, such as improving household cooking efficiency and enhancing natural forest regeneration.

• In 1990, Zambia's total CO2 emissions were 3.2 million tonnes, with approximately 88% attributable to energy use. Within the energy sector, transportation was the largest contributor at 29.5%, followed by mining at 15.8%.
• The baseline 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. Households are the largest energy consumers, contributing 50.70% of the demand in 2010.
• Under the mitigation scenario, total energy demand is projected to be 297.07 million GJ in 2010 and 579.23 million GJ in 2030, representing reductions of 7.9% and 11.3% respectively compared to the baseline. Total CO2 emissions under mitigation are projected to be 23.16 million tonnes in 2010 and 39.6 million tonnes in 2030, compared to baseline projections of 26.45 and 48.47 million tonnes.
• Most identified energy mitigation options have negative costs, meaning they provide a net economic gain. The most cost-effective options include improved maintenance of diesel vehicles (-1,126.55 US$/tonne CO2) and petrol vehicles (-473.79 US$/tonne CO2). Conversely, cement production (9.14 US$/tonne CO2) and replacing coal boilers with electric ones (14.74 US$/tonne CO2) have positive costs.
• Household energy mitigation focuses on substituting firewood and charcoal with electric stoves, improved charcoal stoves, and coal briquettes. The report suggests a financing mechanism to help low-income residents afford electric stoves, which cost approximately US$50 per unit.
• The transport sector's mitigation strategy involves blending ethanol with gasoline. A proposed distillery with a production capacity of 40 million litres per annum would require an investment of approximately USD 8.0 million.
• In the industrial sector, mitigation involves replacing coal, diesel, and fuel oil boilers with electric ones to utilize Zambia's excess hydroelectricity. Additionally, the report recommends investing in a 1,000,000 tonne capacity per annum cement plant using the dry calcination method.
• Deforestation in Zambia is primarily driven by shifting agriculture (53.6%) and semi-permanent agriculture (23.7%). However, the net reduction in woody biomass is low due to natural regeneration.
• Forestry mitigation options are ranked by cost-effectiveness, with natural regeneration being the most sustainable and least costly at -0.04 US$ per tonne of CO2 saved. Forest protection costs 0.50 US$ per tonne, and re-afforestation is the most expensive at 3.40 US$ per tonne.
• The total estimated investment cost for the identified energy and forest projects is slightly over US$500 million. Key barriers to implementation include a lack of financial resources for both project execution and for low-income earners to purchase efficient appliances.

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} }