CO2 Mitigation in the Power Sector in Cambodia: Analysis of Cleaner Supply-side Options beyond INDC

Abstract

The increasing fossil fuel supply to meet the rapidly growing electricity demand is resulting in rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Cambodia. The purpose of this paper is to analyze CO₂ mitigation options from the power sector under the cleaner supply-side options beyond the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of Cambodia. The Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) model is used to analyze the share of electricity generation and CO₂ emissions during 2015 to 2050 under four main scenarios, namely Business-as-Usual (BAU), Renewable Energy (RE), Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and Carbon Tax (CT). Results illustrate that in the BAU scenario, electricity generation and CO₂ emissions from the power sector would be increased by almost 16 and 42 times respectively in 2050 when compared to 2015. Results also show with CO₂ emission reduction potential of about 32.94% in 2050. The imposition of carbon tax amounting to USD500/tCO₂ has the highest CO₂ emission reduction potential in the power sector when compared with other scenarios. Results depict that except the RE scenarios considering lower shares of solar and biomass, all scenarios would help in attainting the 27% CO₂ emission reduction target of Cambodia’s INDC by 2030.