What is Democratic Republic of the Congo's pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C?

Current Situation

Last update: 1 August 2022

Emissions profile

Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) has consistently been by far the DRC’s largest emitting sector of greenhouse gases (GHG) followed by rapidly growing emissions from the waste sector. In 2018, about 75% of the DRC’s GHG emissions came from LULUCF, while the waste sector contributed about 23%.1 The remaining negligible amount was distributed between the energy sector with about 1%, the agriculture sector with 0.61%, and the industrial processes sector with 0.02%. CO₂ emissions make up the largest share of emissions (approximately 75% in 2018), followed by CH₄ (around 24%) and N₂O. If LULUCF is excluded, the three largest sources of emissions in the DRC are the waste, energy, and agriculture sectors representing respectively 92%, 5%, and 3% of total emissions in 2018.

In the DRC, the largest contributors to GHG emissions are forest land-use change, the burning of biomass, and the agricultural practice of burning savanna.2 In a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, the rate of deforestation and degradation is likely to accelerate in the coming years due to the country’s expected population growth and socio-economic development plans.3

Democratic Republic of the Congo's current GHG emissions

MtCO₂e/yr

Energy system

The DRC’s energy sector accounted for around 5% of emissions in 2018 when excluding LULUCF emissions. The sector is dominated by the use of biofuels and waste both in households and industry which accounted for approximately 95% of total primary energy supply and 92% of total final consumption in 2017.4 Oil (2%) and hydropower (2%) accounted for the remaining total primary energy supply.5

The residential sector, accounted for 69% of the DRC’s energy consumption in 2017, followed by the commercial and public service sector at 25%, the transport sector at 4%, and finally the industrial sector at 2%.6 Traditional biomass (firewood and charcoal) constituted 99% of the residential sector’s final energy consumption in the same year. Using biomass for energy contributes to deforestation in the DRC.7 Increasing electrification rate of end-use sectors and access to clean cooking options would significantly curb household biomass combustion, reduce fossil fuel usage, and improve indoor air quality.

In 2011, the DRC had an estimated 1,600 million barrels of proven recoverable oil reserves.8 However, the country does not have oil refineries, so it exports all crude oil and imports refined petroleum products, which were the country’s second largest import in 2019.9 Fossil fuel imports exposes the country to oil price volatility and to dependence on suppliers. Increasing the use of renewable energies could help strengthen the country’s energy security. The DRC had neither coal nor fossil gas in its energy mix in 2020.10 According to a draft National Energy Policy policy11, the government aims to promote the exploitation of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basin, to ensure regular supply of petroleum products and increase energy independence.

In 2017, electricity comprised 3.6% of the total final energy consumption in the DRC.12 The vast majority of electricity is produced with hydropower. Though the DRC is considered to be among the top five countries with the largest hydroelectrical potential in the world, it has one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world.13

Targets and commitments

Economy-wide targets

Target type

Baseline scenario target

NDC target

  • Overall NDC aims for a 21% GHG emission reduction below business-as-usual levels by 2030, of which 19% is conditional and 2% is unconditional
  • The conditional target corresponds to 92% emissions increase by 2030 compared to 2015, or 275 MtCO₂e/yr (excl. LULUCF).

Market mechanisms

  • The updated NDC doesn’t include market mechanisms. However, the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) has signed an emissions reduction purchasing agreement (ERPAs) with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for mitigation results from REDD+ activities in February 2019. This makes the DRC one of the first countries out of 19 that are part of the FCPF Carbon Fund to have signed ERPAs.14 The total value of the ERPA for the DRC is USD 55 million with a goal to mitigate 10 MtCO₂e of emission by 2024.

Long-term target

  • As of November 2022, the DRC has not submitted its long-term strategy.

Sectoral targets

Energy

Total potential reduction of 74.2 to 94.6 MtCO₂e by 2030.

  • Electrify rural, peri-urban, and urban areas with renewable energy sources:
    • Increasing the share of hydropower from 3 GW in 2020 to 4 GW in 2030.
    • Increasing the share of wind, solar and geothermal from 2.9 MW in 2020 to 42.7 MW in 2030.
    • Installing 8 to 10 units of electricity production from renewable sources

Waste

Total potential reduction of 37 MtCO₂e by 2030

  • Strengthening the institutional and legal framework for waste management.
  • Implementing an efficient waste management programme.
  • Promoting energy recovery from waste, including use of biogas and aerobic composting.
  • Promoting the production of energy and organic fertilizers from solid waste, wastewater, and faecal sludge.

Agriculture

Total potential reduction of 180–187 MtCO₂e by 2030

  • Promoting agro-forestry practices and crop rotation, and perennial crops especially in forest areas.
  • Integrating agriculture into the national land-use plan through the implementation of REDD+ strategy.
  • Promoting intensive agriculture in savannah areas.
  • Promoting the sustainable use of agricultural production areas.
  • Intensifying food crop production in anthropogenic savannahs and degraded forests.
  • Intensifying the production of cash crops in secondary or primary forests and savannahs, but with sustainable agroforestry systems.

LULUCF

Total potential reduction of 182–192 MtCO₂e by 2030

  • Promoting traditional and modern afforestation and reforestation techniques to preserve forests.
    • 760 thousand ha of forest to be restored.
    • 15% of 7 million ha of marginal areas to be reforested.
  • Supporting the development of community forestry
  • Restoring wetlands, especially peatlands used for agriculture and livestock.
  • Enhancing the MEOR (Methodology for Evaluation of Restoration Opportunities) tools on a national scale by integrating the use of traditional knowledge of biodiversity conservation around protected areas.
  • Supporting the initiatives which allow for the implementation of the platform on forest and landscape restoration.
  • Strengthening forest governance, particularly in the fight against illegal timber logging and the exploitation of other forest resources, considering the studies, analyses and tools produced in the implementation of the various relevant forestry processes.
  • Furthering sustainable management of timber logging.
  • Managing and rehabilitating mining and oil operations in a sustainable way.
  • Combating bushfires.
  • Mapping peatlands.

Transport

Total potential reduction of 27–37 MtCO₂e by 2030

  • Ensuring the development of the transport sector with an emphasis on mass transport through trams, buses, trains, etc.

Buildings

  • Facilitating the use of improved cooking options and improving carbonisation techniques to make them more efficient.
    • Increasing households’ energy efficiency from 12–15% to 25–30% by 2030.
    • Improve cook stove units for 3 million households by 2030.
  • Increasing the number of residences and institutions, manufacturing industries equipped with solar PV systems.
  • Promoting the use of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electric cookstoves.

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