Decomposing the decoupling of CO2 emissions from economic growth in Cameroon

This paper applied the Tapio and LMDI methods based on an extended Kaya identity, to evaluate the decoupling and factors that influenced the relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions in Cameroon from 1990 to 2015. The analysis covered the two main sectors of Cameroon's economic activity, and the decoupling indicators were broken down into five factors. The results showed that Cameroon performed weak decoupling throughout this study period. A weak negative decoupling and a strong negative decoupling appeared during the periods 1990-1992 and 1993-1994, whereas a strong decoupling occurred only from 1994 to 1995 and between 2004 and 2006. From a general point of view, we found that demographic change, followed by energy intensity and economic activity, played a negative role in decoupling, while economic structure and emission factors had promoted the development of decoupling. A comparative analysis of the industrial and tertiary sectors revealed that industrial growth determined the degree of decoupling of CO2 emissions from Cameroon's economic growth. The policy will need to optimize and significantly adjust the energy and industrial structures if Cameroon's 2035 emission reduction targets are to be reached. This requires a change in Cameroon's energy consumption and economic development pathways for optimal outcomes.