Zambia’s Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE) and the Ministry of Energy (MoE) through the Energy Regulation Board and supported by the Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation (SPAR6C) have published a Grid Emission Factor (GEF) Report which defines the specific emission factor of Zambia’s power sector.
In comparison to other countries, Zambia is currently operating under low electricity tariffs and is unable to meet its growing energy demand. This may be attributed to low levels of investment in the power sector, specifically transmission, distribution and generation assets. To combat this challenge, last year, the Zambian government through the Ministry of Energy launched an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a 30-year electricity planning roadmap which seeks to equip Zambia to meet its energy deficit. This will be achieved through; diversifying Zambia’s energy sources to include renewable energy such as wind and solar; domestic energy resource developments and infrastructure investments to reduce the amount of energy imported; and prioritizing environmentally friendly power generation which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Grid Emission Factor (GEF) of the power sector is consequently a critical component of Zambia’s IRP as it supports energy planning and review through determining the baseline emission intensity of a grid electricity system. Furthermore, the GEF serves as a decisive element for accurately estimating greenhouse gas emissions and emission reductions of renewable energy projects. Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which Zambia is a party to, there are opportunities for countries to access new financing opportunities called Carbon Finance, being finance obtained from the generation and sale of emission reductions. Determining the power sector GEF may therefore stimulate private sector investments in renewable energy generation and energy efficient projects in Zambia as renewable energy projects can secure results based, carbon finance through the trading of emission reductions generated from the implementation of the projects, making the projects more financially viable.
The Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and the Ministry of Energy are hopeful that the GEF report will provide a basis for project developers in Zambia to access carbon finance streams, and ultimately supporting cost efficient and low carbon development of Zambia’s power sector. Increased investment in the power sector can enhance electricity supply, improve tariff setting and revenue generation and overall efficient operations of Zambia’s power sector.
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