Third National Communication report released in Rwanda on World Environment Day

A new report has been released that shows agriculture contributes 70 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in Rwanda. The East African country has welcomed the release of Third National Communication report on climate change on World Environment Day.

The reports are submitted to the United Nations every four years under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). It shows the summary of emission trends from 2006 to 2015 including the future emissions scenarios up to 2050, vulnerability and ways of mitigating and adapting to climate change.

After agriculture energy follows as the second biggest contributor of greenhouse emissions in Rwanda, accounting for 20.11 per cent, followed by waste and industrial processes at 7.55 per cent and 1.08 per cent respectively, as reported by The New Times.

“The emissions from agriculture are dominated by urea fertilisers application and enteric fermentation. In 2015 alone, emissions from urea application alone were almost double the total emissions from energy sector and these emissions have increased from 1,246,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2006 to 2,559,000 in 2025,” the report says.

On the other hand, Rwanda also joined the rest of the countries over the planet to mark the World Environment Day with a call on the public to adopt clean alternative sources of energy to avoid air pollution. The Rwandans celebrated the day through a ceremony held in Kigali under the theme ‘Beat Air Pollution’.

“Everyone needs to contribute to fighting air pollution. Adopting clean alternative sources of energy for cooking, ensuring regular service of vehicles and avoiding open burnings are among simple measures to beat air pollution,” director general of Rwanda Environment Management Authority, Coletha Ruhamya cited at the event.

Data on the sources of air pollution in Rwanda indicate that vehicle emissions are the leading cause of air pollution in Kigali and other urban areas, the Rwandan ministry of environment said last week.

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