Modelling and Forecasting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by the Energy Sector in Kenya Using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Models

Abstract

The energy sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse (GHG) gases in Kenya, emitting about 31.2% of GHG emissions in the country. The aim of this study was to model Kenya’s GHG emissions by the energy sector using ARIMA models for forecasting future values. The data used for the study was that of Kenya’s GHG emissions by the energy sector for the period starting from 1970 to 2022 obtained for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) database that was split into training and testing sets using the 80/20 rule for modelling purposes. The best specification for the ARIMA model was identified using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and mean absolute scaled error (MASE). ARIMA (1, 1, 1) was identified as the best model for modelling Kenya’s GHG emissions and forecasting future values. Using this model, Kenya’s GHG emissions by the energy sector were forecasted to increase to a value of about 43.13 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents by 2030. The study, therefore, recommends that Kenya should accelerate the adjustment of industry structure and improve the efficient use of energy, optimize the energy structure and accelerate development and promotion of energy-efficient products to reduce the emission of GHGs by the country’s energy sector.