Rwanda
TOTAL POPULATION
11.3 million YEAR 2014
CO2 EMISSIONS
840 kt COUNTRY, YEAR 2014
822,800 kt Sub-Saharan Africa, YEAR 2014
“To deviate emissions from the business as usual path by 2030, conditional on international support.”
PARIS AGREEMENT TARGET
Afrodita Bojadjieva donated € 10 to Bringing Back Forests In Kenya . Alina Iakovleva donated € 15 to Bringing Back Forests In Kenya . Nathan Bonnisseau donated € 5 to In Your Face . Sara Snaell donated € 1,000 to In Your Face . Sara Snaell donated € 1,000 to In Your Face . Sara Snaell donated € 1,000 to Recycled Electronics for German School Children . Abhijit Agarwal donated € 25 to Recycled Electronics for German School Children . Zero Waste Event donated € 78 to Promote Public Health in Mozambique through Safe Waste Management . Pub Quiz Event donated € 398 to Provide Eco-Friendly Stoves to Indigenous Guatemalans . Cocktails for the Planet Event donated € 1,594 to Help Rwandan Cities Control Waste and Stay Clean . Transmodernity Event donated € 113 to Empower and Facilitate the Youth Climate Change Movement in Iraq . Plan A E-Waste Event donated € 172 to Recycled Electronics for German School Children . Robby Block donated € 500 to Help an Indian Youth Organization Keep the Ocean Clean . Albrecht Schrader donated € 100 to Bringing Back Forests In Kenya . Albrecht Schrader donated € 100 to Help Lesotho Develop a Solar Energy System . Albrecht Schrader donated € 100 to Help Lesotho Develop a Solar Energy System . Konstantinos Dimitriadis donated € 5 to Help Build Eco-Friendly Homes for Rural Communities in India . Manon Steiner donated € 15 to Help Rwandan Cities Control Waste and Stay Clean . Bart van den Heuvel donated € 25 to Recycled Electronics for German School Children . Prateek Gogineni donated € 30 to Promote Clean Agroforestry in Rural India . Lluis Mateu donated € 50 to Bringing Back Forests In Kenya . Renato Anselmi Ricci donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Donal O‘Byrne donated € 1,300 to E-waste Race Germany . Kiki Beck donated € 20 to E-waste Race Germany . Donal O‘Byrne donated € 1,500 to E-waste Race Germany . Farah Piryeva donated € 200 to CROWDFOREST: Making Reforestation Faster and Free through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles . Ruggero Lambertini donated € 75 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Iren Dikova donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Vladimir Topencharov donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Vladimir Topencharov donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Luke Farrelly donated € 120 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Andrey Bankovski donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Kalina Zhechkova donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Anton Batchvarov donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Stivian Valchev donated € 35 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Tatyana Mitkova donated € 30 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . NELIA VATEVA donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Alex Kitov donated € 25 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Ivaylo Vasilev donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Alex Winkler donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Valeriia Muliukova donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Francesca bianchi donated € 100 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Stephanie van groenendael donated € 40 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Judith de Warren donated € 50 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . nat Bonnisseau donated € 1 to Empowering Mangrove Women for a Healthy & Resilient Ecosystem . Luke Davis donated € 10 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Stanislav Stoev donated € 30 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Nathan Bonnisseau donated € 18 to Recruiting 20,000 New Sagarmitra Student Volunteers . Sara Riva donated € 50 to CROWDFOREST: Making Reforestation Faster and Free through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles . Luke Davis donated € 5 to E-waste Race Germany .
PlanA Newsletter
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CLIMATE SIGNIFICANCE
The diversity of Rwanda’s landscape makes it vulnerable to a range of climate change-induced threats. The lowlands of the east are naturally susceptible to drought, and the highlands to the north-west face heavy rainfall. Agriculture is hugely important for Rwandan people (often on a subsistence basis), as well as the larger economy - making up one-third of the GDP.
Climate change means increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather. This is bad news for all farmers, who often rely on consistency and moderation of weather for successful harvests and healthy yields. Erratic weather patterns severely impact the growth of crops, and extreme weather is hugely damaging. Droughts kill through water starvation, and heavy rains can wash away already strained soils, destroying crops in the process. Deforestation exacerbates this problem by removing protective trees and exposing land to whatever the climate throws at it - as well as harming the abundant biodiversity Rwanda can be so proud of.
Rwanda’s GDP and population are growing consistently. This is good news for a developing economy, but this growth must be supported in a sustainable way if it is to continue alongside the challenges of climate change. To this end, Rwanda has a clear and ambitious vision of its future.
Looking ahead to 2050, the government is focused on building a strong and low carbon economy, with low poverty and low unemployment. It recognises that long-term, industries will only survive if they are sustainable, and so the emphasis must be on developing low-carbon domestic energy resources. On top of this, there is the ambition to minimise Rwanda’s contribution to climate change alongside the Sustainable Development Goals and develop the local knowledge and infrastructure to meet challenges as they emerge.
Rwanda knows what must be done, and the international community must help them do it. This country, its people, animals and plants deserve the chance to ride out the challenges our planet is facing and ensure Rwanda continues to grow as the stunning place it is.
THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET THERE IS NO PLAN B FOR OUR PLANET
DATA INSIGHTS
The World Bank classifies Rwanda as a low-income country. To understand Rwanda’s position in the fight against climate change, it is useful to observe its history of carbon emissions and exposure to climate risk. The following plots provide an overview of Rwanda’s historic greenhouse gas emissions in perspective with global emission levels, as well as the country’s relative vulnerability and preparedness to climate change.
Rwanda Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Rwanda’s timeline of total GHG emissions and the percentage change from 1990
This plot combines 3 pieces of information measured from 1990 - 2012: The bar chart indicates the volume of the country’s GHG emissions, the full line shows the variation of this volume compared to the baseline 1990, and the dotted line presents the same variation, but globally.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and fluorocarbons are the main drivers of global warming. Between 1990 and 2012, the world’s emissions grew by 40%.
Rwanda’s emissions surged by 51% between 1990 and 2000. Methane emissions from the energy sector increased during this period, especially in the mid-90s. Between 2000 and 2010, a 50% increase in emissions was observed. Agricultural methane emissions and energy-related emissions have seen a sharp increase during this period. Overall, Rwanda’s emissions have increased by 106% between 1990 and 2012.
In Rwanda for the year 2014, emissions from the agriculture sector (39%) are predominantly followed by waste (25%), energy (23%) and land-use change and forestry (like clearing forests for agriculture practices and open burning of biomass) (11%). Methane emissions are higher than CO2 emissions in Rwanda. As Rwanda’s economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector (34% of GNP), soil degradation and environmental destruction are quite prevalent. Rwanda needs a tremendous development right from improving access to electricity to the population which is currently at 30% to climate-smart agricultural practices. (Source: WRI, 2018; World Bank, 2018; UNFCCC)
Rwanda Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Rwanda’s timeline of total GHG emissions and the percentage change from 1990
This plot combines 3 pieces of information measured from 1990 - 2012: The bar chart indicates the volume of the country’s GHG emissions, the full line shows the variation of this volume compared to the baseline 1990, and the dotted line presents the same variation, but globally.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and fluorocarbons are the main drivers of global warming. Between 1990 and 2012, the world’s emissions grew by 40%.
Rwanda’s emissions surged by 51% between 1990 and 2000. Methane emissions from the energy sector increased during this period, especially in the mid-90s. Between 2000 and 2010, a 50% increase in emissions was observed. Agricultural methane emissions and energy-related emissions have seen a sharp increase during this period. Overall, Rwanda’s emissions have increased by 106% between 1990 and 2012.
In Rwanda for the year 2014, emissions from the agriculture sector (39%) are predominantly followed by waste (25%), energy (23%) and land-use change and forestry (like clearing forests for agriculture practices and open burning of biomass) (11%). Methane emissions are higher than CO2 emissions in Rwanda. As Rwanda’s economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector (34% of GNP), soil degradation and environmental destruction are quite prevalent. Rwanda needs a tremendous development right from improving access to electricity to the population which is currently at 30% to climate-smart agricultural practices. (Source: WRI, 2018; World Bank, 2018; UNFCCC)
Rwanda Climate Vulnerability and Readiness (CVRI)
Rwanda’s vulnerability and readiness to combat climate change
This graph ranks a country’s climate performance by measuring its readiness (x-axis) and its vulnerability (y-axis). Both are measured from 0 - 1 (1 being the most ready or most vulnerable). This index combines indicators of a country’s exposure to climate change and others that measure the country’s potential to withstand those shocks.
Each dot in this plot represents a country. The countries in most urgent situations are on the top left of the graph whilst the most resilient ones stand at the bottom right.
Rwanda is categorized as a country with high vulnerability to climate change impacts and a moderate level of adaptation. Agricultural capacity is at risk threatening the food security as well as the economy of the country. Electricity production is hugely dependent on hydro and thermal power sectors. The need for increasing electricity generation can be fulfilled by using renewable technologies. Dependency on firewood for energy production which is quite prevalent could be complemented by using biogas based methods. (Source: ND-GAIN, 2018)
The impacts of climate change vary by country and region. But wherever you are, local-level adaptation projects are necessary. You have all the cards in hand, now go explore our live projects and be one of the good guys.
Rwanda Climate Vulnerability and Readiness (CVRI)
Rwanda’s vulnerability and readiness to combat climate change
This graph ranks a country’s climate performance by measuring its readiness (x-axis) and its vulnerability (y-axis). Both are measured from 0 - 1 (1 being the most ready or most vulnerable). This index combines indicators of a country’s exposure to climate change and others that measure the country’s potential to withstand those shocks.
Each dot in this plot represents a country. The countries in most urgent situations are on the top left of the graph whilst the most resilient ones stand at the bottom right.
Rwanda is categorized as a country with high vulnerability to climate change impacts and a moderate level of adaptation. Agricultural capacity is at risk threatening the food security as well as the economy of the country. Electricity production is hugely dependent on hydro and thermal power sectors. The need for increasing electricity generation can be fulfilled by using renewable technologies. Dependency on firewood for energy production which is quite prevalent could be complemented by using biogas based methods. (Source: ND-GAIN, 2018)
The impacts of climate change vary by country and region. But wherever you are, local-level adaptation projects are necessary. You have all the cards in hand, now go explore our live projects and be one of the good guys.
BE ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS...
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