Current Situation

Last update: 28 May 2024

Emissions profile

Senegal’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reached 27.7 MtCO₂e in 2019, excluding LULUCF.¹ The majority of these emissions come from agriculture (45%), the energy sector (35%) and industrial process emissions (10%). Current trends suggest that emissions will continue to rise across all sectors, as Senegal’s economy is growing at one of the fastest rates in Africa (8.3% GDP growth in 2023).²

The power sector makes up half of the energy sector’s emissions or 17% of national emissions. Collectively, industrial process and industrial energy emissions account for 13% of Senegal’s total GHG emissions. Mining and oil and gas extraction account for 96% of industrial process emissions. Buildings contributes to 3% of national GHG emissions. However, the energy mix is largely dominated by the use of traditional biomass which has adverse heath and sustainability applications.

In 2015, Senegal put in place Renewable Energy³ and Energy Efficiency⁴ action plans for 2015-2030, featuring a suite of financial, capacity building and legislative reform measures to support the uptake of renewables and energy efficiency.

Graph description

Historical emissions per gas and per sector.

Data References
- PRIMAP-Hist 2023. Energy sub-sectors' emissions based on IEA GHG Emissions from Energy 2023.

Energy overview and main policy gaps

63% of Senegal’s primary energy mix is made up of fossil fuels, dominated by oil. The country is dependent on imported fossil fuels, making its energy prices some of the highest in Africa.⁵ In 2018, Senegal allocated a significant portion of its export earnings to cover fossil fuel import costs, amounting to 48% of its export revenue.⁶

Senegal is on track to reach its 2020 NDC conditional renewable targets, achieving 80% of its 335 MW of installed solar and 60% of its 250 MW wind energy targets in 2022.⁷ The country has recently announced its intention to increase its renewable energy target to 40% of the electricity mix by 2030 as a condition of its Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement signed with international partners.⁸

Senegal aims to exploit newly discovered oil and gas fields⁹ to secure ‘low-cost electricity services,’ including gas-to-power. Its plans also seek to expand renewables and the energy grid,¹⁰ but do not aim at a fossil fuel phase out.¹¹ If Senegal shifted focus towards renewables, it would create 6,700 job years per MWh annually this decade, four times more than would be expected from investing in the natural gas sector.¹²

Targets and Commitments

Unconditional NDC target:

Total GHG emissions compared with a Business as Usual (BAU) reference situation of: 5% GHG emissions reductions by 2025, 7% GHG emissions reductions by 2030

Conditional NDC target:

As expressed by the country: 23.7% GHG emissions reductions by 2025, 29.5% GHG emissions reductions by 2030 or 14 MtCO₂e¹³
Re-expressed, excluding LULUCF: 14-46% above 2010 by 2030

Sector coverage:

Agriculture, Waste, Industry (processes), Energy, LULUCF

Long-term target:

Senegal has not set out a long-term target but is expected to announce a long-term strategy at COP28. ¹⁴

Johannes Gütschow and Mika Pflüger, “The PRIMAP-Hist National Historical Emissions Time Series (1750-2022) v2.5” (Zenodo, 2023) ↩
IMF, “World Economic Outlook (April 2023) - Real GDP Growth,” 2023 ↩
Gouvernement du Senegal, “Plan d’Actions National Des Energies Renouvelables. Période [2015-2020/2030]” (Dakar: Ministère de l’Energie et du Développement des Energies Renouvelables, 2015). ↩
Gouvernement du Senegal, “Plan Actions National d’Efficacité Energétique (PANEE) [National Energy Efficiency Action Plan]” (Senegal: Ministère de l’Energie et du Développement des Energies Renouvelables, 2015). ↩
Dorothee Apfel, “Renewable Energy Transition in Senegal? Exploring the Dynamics of Emerging Paths to a Sustainable Energy System,” Energy Research & Social Science 92 (October 1, 2022): 102771 ↩
Bertrand Tchanche, “Chapter 2: Energy Supply and Consumption in Senegal,” in Sustaining Tomorrow via Innovative Engineering (World Scientific, 2021), 55–82 ↩
New Climate Institute, “Renewable Senegal,” 2023 ↩
European Commission, “Just Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal,” Text, European Commission - European Commission, 2023 ↩
IMF, “Senegal’s Growth Prospects Are Strong,” IMF, 2023 ↩
Gouvernement du Senegal, “Lettre de Politique de Developpement Du Secteur de l’Energie (LPDSE) 2019-2023) [Energy Sector Developemnt Policy Letter]” (Dakar, 2019). ↩
Gouvernment du Senegal, “Contribution Déterminée au Nivau National du Senegal [National Determined Contribution of Senegal],” 2020. ↩
Climate Action Tracker, “Natural Gas in Africa. Why Fossil Fuels Cannot Sustainably Meet the Continent’s Growing Energy Demand” (Berlin, 2022). ↩
Gouvernment du Senegal, “Contribution Déterminée au Nivau National du Senegal [National Determined Contribution of Senegal],” 2020. ↩
European Commission, “Just Energy Transition Partnership with Senegal.” ↩

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

Emissions profile

Senegal's 2019 GHG emissions

excluding LULUCF MtCO₂e/yr

Energy overview and main policy gaps

Targets and Commitments

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