East African region is enjoying robust economic growth predicted to outperform other regions in Africa in the medium term.
The region is considered as a rising economic jewel of sub-Saharan Africa because of its remarkable growth rate predicted to outpace the rest of the continent.
According to the African Development Bank 2023 East Africa Economic Outlook published mid this year, East Africa will register the highest regional economic performance on the continent in 2023 and 2024, with growth figures at over 5 percent.
The report attributes this growth to the collective achievements of countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.
Writing for Euromonitor International, Fransua Razvadauskas says East Africa is projected to account for 29 per cent of the region's GDP - up from 21 per cent in 2022 and just 14 per cent in 2000.
He says between 2022-2040, East Africa is predicted to record faster economic growth than sub-Saharan Africa at large and other Asian economies that are experiencing rapid industrialisation.
The region's strong economic growth, which means expansion of economic activities, has also triggered the rapid growth of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions which however remains low in global terms.
However, previous carbon accounting studies have never focused on the region.
At the start of the 21st century, all the countries of East Africa were agrarian and actively exploring differentiated ways to revitalise their economies. Large economies such as Kenya and Tanzania set industrialisation as an important goal in their national economic development plans.
Generally, East Africa is at the initial stage of industrialization and urbanization where economic growth and emissions are highly coupled.
In the East African Community (EAC) region, Kenya and Tanzania, the two largest economies are also leading in carbon dioxide emission. Kenya is leading in carbon dioxide emissions the EAC region with annual emission of 19.88 million metric tonnes in 2021 followed by Tanzania with 13.06 million metric tonnes.
The rest of the EAC member states follow the two economic power houses in a distant with Uganda at 5.78 million metric tonnes, DR Congo (2.61 million metric tonnes), Rwanda (1.75 million metric tonnes) and South Sudan (1.58 million metric tonnes).
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Burundi and Somalia are the least pollutors with 692,908 metric tonnes and 610,374 metric tonnes respectively.
However, carbon emissions from the region are still low in global terms. None of the EAC member states is in top ten carbon emitters led by South Africa contributing, contributing 435.9 million tonnes, followed by Egypt, with 249.6 million tonnes, and Algeria, responsible for 176.2 million tonnes.
The three countries produce more than 60 percent of the continent's carbon emissions.
Africa contributes just 4 percent of global carbon emissions despite being the continent that will suffer the most from climate change. Within Africa, more than 60 percent of the continent's carbon emissions are produced by just three countries - South Africa, contributing 435.9 million tonnes, Egypt, with 249.6 million tonnes, and Algeria, responsible for 176.2 million tonnes.
Africa's carbon emissions are dwarfed by the emissions of other continents. At 11.47 billion tonnes, China is the world's largest polluter, followed by the United States (5 billion tonnes), India (2.7 billion tonnes), Russia (1.75 billion tonnes) and Japan (1.07 billion tonnes).
