8 - Biomass burning in Africa: role in atmospheric change and opportunities for emission mitigation

Summary

Keywords

Biomass burning; greenhouse gas emissions; emission mitigation

Abstarct

A review of available literature published on biomass burning and trace gas emissions in Africa reveals household biofuel use, land use and land-use change to be the most important trace gas emission sources in Africa, contributing about 4% to the overall global CO₂ budget. This may not be significant in so far as altering global climate through temperature rise is concerned. However, through the contribution of about 35% of the global photochemical ozone formation, biomass burning in Africa significantly influences important atmospheric processes. Although the total greenhouse gas emissions from Africa are very low compared to those of other continents, countries on the continent could still contribute to global greenhouse gas mitigation efforts through ways that could simultaneously deliver urgent development needs.

INTRODUCTION

Many African governments have for long underplayed their countries' contribution to regional and global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels. The general assumption that their countries contribute insignificant amounts of these gases – responsible for the earth's warming – has influenced their hard stance, witnessed at international negotiations, against any meaningful roles in concerted efforts to mitigate GHG emissions. But intensive atmospheric research work on Africa over the past two decades (e. g., SAFARI 2000, www.safari2000.org) have confirmed the significant contribution that biomass burning has made to the regional and global tropospheric trace gas budgets. The land-use and energy sectors dominate African GHG emissions (UNEP, 1998).