What is Kenya's pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C?

Industry

Decarbonising the industry sector

Kenya’s industry sector accounted for 11% of national emissions (excluding LULUCF) in 2022, including emissions from energy use and industrial processes.1 The share of coal in industrial energy use almost tripled between 2010-2020, primarily due to demand in the cement sector.2, 3 Coal met 43% of industrial energy demand in 2022.4 The substitution of clinker in cement production, which is part of Kenya’s emission reduction strategy in its 2020 NDC, could result in reduced reliance on coal for cement production.5

Kenya's energy mix in the industry sector

petajoule per year

Scaling

Fuel shares refer only to energy demand of the sector. Deployment of synthetic fuels is not represented in these pathways.

The Minimal CDR Reliance pathway sees the most rapid electrification of Kenya’s industrial sector – it limits warming to 1.5ºC with only minimal amounts of carbon dioxide removal and requires faster and deeper reductions in fossil fuel usage. In this pathway, the share of fossil fuels are almost halved by 2030, falling from 66% in 2020, to 37%, dropping to just 5% of the mix by 2050. Increased electrification is critical for this pathway to meet the high energy demand from Kenyan industry.

In the Net Zero Commitments and Deep Electrification pathways, the share of electricity stays relatively stable through 2030 and increases to 36-58% by 2050. However, in absolute terms, some of the increase in energy demand is met by increased fossil fuels in the energy mix.

Energy regulations stipulate that industries consuming 180 MWh per year establish energy management plans and conduct an energy audit every three years.6 The government has set a target for full compliance by 2025 against the current 45%.7, 8 It is also mandatory for some electrical machinery to achieve minimum energy performance standards ensuring that energy efficiency is enhanced.

Kenya's industry sector direct CO₂ emissions (from energy demand)

MtCO₂/yr

Direct CO₂ emissions only are considered (see power sector for electricity related emissions, hydrogen and heat emissions are not considered here).

Kenya's GHG emissions from industrial processes

MtCO₂e/yr

  • Graph description

    1.5°C compatible CO₂ emissions pathways. This is presented through a set of illustrative pathways and a 1.5°C compatible range for total CO₂ emissions excl. LULUCF. The 1.5°C compatible range is based on global cost-effective pathways assessed by the IPCC AR6, defined by the 5th and 5th percentiles.

    Data References

1.5°C compatible industry sector benchmarks

Direct CO₂ emissions, direct electrification rates, and combined shares of electricity, hydrogen and biomass from illustrative 1.5°C pathways for Kenya

Indicator
2022
2030
2035
2040
2050
Industry sector decarbonised by
Direct CO₂ emissions
MtCO₂/yr
4
3 to 5
3 to 5
3 to 6
1 to 6
2049
Relative to reference year in %
-25 to 25%
-25 to 25%
-25 to 50%
-75 to 50%
Indicator
2022
2030
2035
2040
2050
Share of electricity
%
27
28 to 54
35 to 60
37 to 69
36 to 90
Share of electricity, hydrogen and biomass
%
42
30 to 63
38 to 68
45 to 79
60 to 95

Fuel share provided refers to energy demand only from the industry sector. BECCS are the only Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies considered in these benchmarks.
Direct CO₂ emissions only are considered (see power sector analysis, hydrogen and heat emissions are not considered here). All values are rounded. Year of full decarbonisation is based on carbon intenstiy threshold of 5gCO₂/MJ.

Cookie settings

Just like other websites, we use cookies to improve and personalize your experience. We collect standard Internet log information and aggregated data to analyse our traffic. Our preference cookies allow us to adapt our content to our audience interests.