Fossil-Fuel CO₂ Emissions from South Africa

Graphics    Digital Data

Trends

South Africa is the 13th largest emitting country based on 2006 fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions and the largest emitting country on the continent of Africa. With a domestic economy powered by coal, South Africa has experienced a 6.8-fold increase in fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions since 1950, with 80-90% of emissions from coal. For 2006, 86% of South Africa's fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions of 113 million metric tons of carbon were from coal, another 11% were from oil consumption, and the remainder was from cement manufacture and natural gas and coke-oven gas consumption. The oil price problems so evident in other countries appear to have had only a minor impact on South African fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions.

It is appropriate to note that the emissions shown in the digital data file are by primary fuel. Consequently, when liquid fuels are produced from coal, the emissions will still appear in these tabulations as CO₂ emissions from solid fuels.