Africa’s biofuel energy and emissions prospect: Forward-looking into 2030

Abstract

Renewable and clean energies foster carbon abatement. This makes the prospects of emission mitigation through Biofuels vital in Africa’s energy transitioning agenda. As such, the role of Biofuel energies in abating Africa’s emissions is worthy of investigation. This study goes a step further, from existing studies, to analyse the carbon abatement prospects of biofuel in Africa’s energy transitioning journey. To this end, the top five leading African economies are sampled. These economies account for over 77% of Africa’s carbon emissions and over 60% of Africa’s output. Firstly, the carbon emission levels of these top 5 economies, from 1990 to 2019, are decomposed using the Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA). Then, based on these decompositions, the carbon mitigation intensities are derived and analyzed due to Biofuels consumption. Finally, three different scenarios are designed as a forward-looking measure toward reducing carbon emissions in Africa up to 2030. The findings support that Biofuel energy consumption substantially increases carbon abatement levels and intensities in Africa. As a policy implication from these findings; the cultivation, processing, and production of biofuels and their sources should be encouraged in all African economies.