The industry sector accounted for about 5% of the overall energy consumption in Cameroon in 2019.⁶ When looking specifically at electricity consumption, the industrial sector consumed 56% in 2019.⁶

Under the 1.5°C compatible pathways analysed here, direct CO₂ emissions from energy demand in the industry sector decline faster than industrial processes. Most analysed scenarios for energy demand in the industry sector see CO₂ emissions reducing by 38-53% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels to reach close to zero emissions by 2050. GHG emissions from industrial processes see a steady decrease from 2020 onwards. According to the analysed pathways, Cameroon’s industry sector has a high electricity penetration starting at 72% in 2019 and growing to approximately 82% in 2030, 92% in 2040, and at least 94% in 2050. As the share of electricity increases in the energy mix, the share of oil steadily decreases. This sharp increase in deployment of electricity will require investments in in grid infrastructure and electricity production capacity. Electricity will help decarbonise the building sector if it is produced from renewable energy sources which it predominantly is in Cameroon (See the power section for details).

Within the industrial sector electricity consumption is dominated by the aluminium industry, with a share of about 45%, followed by the mining and cement industries.³ Process-related emissions need to decarbonise steadily. A key lever will be to use decarbonised electricity as most emissions from aluminium production come from the electricity consumed during smelting.¹⁴ The Cameroon government has prioritised investment in the energy sector in the national budget and in its National Development Strategy 2020-2030 (SND30).

¹ République du Cameroun. Contribution déterminée au niveau national – Actualisée (CDN). 58 (2021).

² World Bank Group. World Development Indicators: Cameroon. (2022).

³ African Development Bank (AfDB). Country priority plan and diagnostic of the electricity sector: Cameroon. (2021).

⁴ African Energy Commission (AFREC). AFREC Africa Energy Balances 2019. (2019).

⁵ Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). OEC Cameroon country page. (2019).

⁶ International Energy Agency (IEA). Data and statistics: Cameroon. (2022).

⁷ U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Natural gas reserves. (2021).

⁸ African Energy Commission (AFREC). Africa Energy Efficiency for the Residential Sector 2019. (2019).

⁹ United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Atlas of Africa Energy Resource. (2017).

¹⁰ International Hydropower Association. Hydropower Status Report: Sector Trends and Insights. (2019).

¹¹ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Cameroon. (2019).

¹² , R. E. and E. E. P. Policy and Regulation Overview by Country: Cameroon. (2012).

¹³ Ministère de l’Eau et de l’Énergie. Plan Directeur d’Electrification Rurale du Cameroun (PDER). (2016).

¹⁴ Cousins, S. The 75 per cent problem: aluminium’s carbon footprint..

¹⁵ See assumptions here.

¹⁶ Global cost-effective pathways assessed by the IPCC Special Report 1.5°C tend to include fossil fuel use well beyond the time at which these could be phased out, compared to what is understood from bottom-up approaches, and often rely on rather conservative assumptions in the development of renewable energy technologies. This tends to result in greater reliance on technological CDR than if a faster transition to renewables were achieved. The scenarios available at the time of this analysis focus particularly on BECCS as a net-negative emission technology, and our downscaling methods do not yet take national BECCS potentials into account.