An assessment of Rwanda's achievements in transitioning to a low Carbon economy: A focus on the energy sector

Abstract

Most countries around the world, including Rwanda, have set a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. The study within this dissertation report aims at assessing the achievements made so far by Rwanda in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. The applied investigation methodology consists in online survey aiming at assessing the status of Rwanda towards its engagement into carbon reduction scheme. Four indicators of a transition to a low-carbon economy in the energy sector have been selected for investigation, namely; low-carbon energy share of total installed electricity capacity, access to clean energy for cooking, electric vehicles use and clean energy investments. These postulates have been analyzed to check how Rwanda has performed so far towards a carbon-neutral nation by 2050, as to set targets of Rwandan Government in line with Sustainable Development Goals. The study made use of secondary type of data which was obtained from websites of leading global energy research institutions such as the International Renewable Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency as well as from the websites of companies and institutions managing the energy sector of Rwanda such as Rwanda Energy Group and the Ministry of Infrastructure. This data was analyzed using a method known as the beforeand-after data analysis method. The levels of each indicator, between the years 2010 and 2020, were analyzed to check if each indicator is increasing or decreasing. The decision criteria was that if we subtract the 2010 level of each indictor from its 2020 level and we get a positive value, then it means that an achievement has been made in that particular indicator; and if we get a negative value it means that no achievements has been made. The results obtained from the analysis of these indicators showed that between 2010 and 2020, Rwanda’s energy sector has made achievements in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. None of the selected indicators gave negative a negative value after their analysis. Microsoft excel and Origin Pro 8.0 computer softwares were used to produce graphs, bar charts and pie charts employed to present the trends of the chosen indictors in Rwanda.