Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DME) Quarterly Fuel Consumption Data

South Africa is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 398 – 510 MtCO₂e by 2025, and to 350 – 420 MtCO₂e by 2030, under its latest Paris Agreement Pledge.

Various proxy indicators can be used to monitor trends in greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these proxy indicators include monthly carbon dioxide emissions, the total installed capacity of renewable energy, fuel consumption, and several net zero-carbon buildings.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DME) in South Africa publishes the total fuel consumption for each quarter of the year. The total fuel consumption includes diesel, petrol, jet fuel, paraffin, furnace oil, LPG, and aviation gasoline. The graph below displays the annual fuel consumption over the last 5 years in South Africa.

Compiled using data from the DME

The annual fuel consumption in South Africa from 2017 to 2019 was fairly constant at around 27 billion litres. Fuel consumption decreased significantly to 23.19 billion litres in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to a national lockdown, there was less demand for fuel. In 2021, lockdown measures were gradually easing, and fuel consumption increased to 25.18 billion litres.

In comparison, the annual carbon dioxide emissions (in mega tonnes, Mt) in South Africa (excluding emissions from land-use change) were fairly constant at around 464 Mt in 2017 and 2018. Carbon dioxide emissions increased to 475.92 Mt in 2019 and decreased to 451.96 Mt in 2020, as illustrated below.

Compiled using data from Our World in Data

In general, fuel consumption trends are similar to annual carbon dioxide emissions as the more fuel is consumed, the higher the emissions. An exception is observed for the year 2019 when fuel consumption went slightly down while carbon dioxide emissions went up. Thus it is crucial to monitor all relevant proxy indicators in order to get more insight into the levels of emissions.

Learn More Resources

 

• Charitar, D. 2022. Climate Scorecard. South Africa: Climate Progress Report. https://www.climatescorecard.org/2022/04/south-africa-climate-progress-report/ [Accessed November 2022].
• Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. Energy Statistics. http://www.energy.gov.za/files/energyStats_frame.html [Accessed November 2022].
• Our World in Data. South Africa: CO2 Country Profile. https://ourworldindata.org/co2/country/south-africa#what-are-the-country-s-annual-co2-emissions [Accessed November 2022].
• World Resources Institute. 2021. STATEMENT: South Africa’s Climate Commitment Much More Ambitious Than Before. https://www.wri.org/news/statement-south-africas-climate-commitment-much-more-ambitious [Accessed November 2022].

This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard South Africa Country Manager Deepti Charitar