Eswatini faces a dual challenge in its energy transition: reducing its heavy reliance on imported electricity while maintaining relatively low greenhouse gas emissions. Although the country’s overall emissions remain modest, close to 70 per cent of its electricity is imported from neighbouring countries, exposing Eswatini to supply insecurity and price volatility.

In response, the government of Eswatini has articulated a clear policy objective to expand domestic electricity generation and reduce dependence on imports, with renewable energy playing a central role. Among renewable options, bioenergy stands out as a strategic opportunity. Eswatini’s large sugar and forestry industries generate substantial biomass residues, offering significant potential for sustainable bioenergy production if supported by appropriate policy, planning and investment frameworks. Harnessing this potential could simultaneously strengthen energy security, support economic development, and contribute to climate mitigation goals.

ICAT engagement in Eswatini: two complementary initiatives

Against this backdrop, ICAT supported Eswatini through two closely linked but distinct initiatives.

The first was an ICAT country project focused on strengthening national capacity for climate transparency, policy assessment and implementation of Eswatini’s updated NDC. This project later entered into a second phase, expanding ICAT’s support to include renewable energy policy assessment, the development of a draft Bioenergy Policy, and the strengthening of MRV systems for both mitigation and adaptation.

The second initiative involved ICAT support to the University of Eswatini, enabling the application of the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology to assess the greenhouse gas emissions impacts of Eswatini’s National Energy Policy. This academic-led assessment built on the foundations laid through the country project and provided a deeper, evidence-based analysis of renewable energy pathways, particularly the potential for domestic electricity generation from renewable sources.

Together, these two initiatives combined national policy processes with applied analytical work, ensuring that technical assessments were directly connected to decision-making and led to a significant outcome.

Application of the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology

In 2025, the University of Eswatini received ICAT support to apply the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology to assess the impacts of Eswatini’s National Energy Policy on greenhouse gas emissions to determine the potential to generate electricity locally through renewable energy sources.

The assessment was implemented by the Center for Sustainable Energy Research (CSER) at the University of Eswatini in close collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. The process involved extensive consultation with national energy experts, including representatives from the Energy Department, the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority, the Eswatini Electricity Company and Independent Power Producers. This inclusive approach ensured that the analysis reflected national realities and was directly relevant to policy decision-making. 

Harnessing the power of renewable energy in Eswatini

The assessment applying the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology showed that additional renewable energy could eliminate imports, and sufficiently meet national demand, with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. Under a baseline scenario, emissions were estimated at 1,350 kt CO2e, while the introduction of renewable energy technologies could reduce these to 778–692 kt CO2e. The analysis further indicated that the country would meet its target of an energy mix of at least 50 per cent of grid electricity generated from renewable energy sources. The assessment highlighted the role that renewable energy was likely to play in Eswatini’s electricity mix at least up to the year 2030, demonstrating that expanding renewables could help limit greenhouse gas emissions for the country while reducing electricity imports. The results of the assessment were subsequently validated with national experts and relevant government stakeholders.

The University of Eswatini team, in consultation with national stakeholders, concluded that the assessment using the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology provided a robust forecast of the country’s potential for renewable electricity generation, particularly in terms of auctions and tenders, to inform national policy development. The methodology was also found to be a useful tool for estimating realistic projections of greenhouse gas emissions to inform the NDC update process, especially discussions on the country’s minimum base load and renewable energy capacity.  

Translating biomass potential into actionable bioenergy policy

In parallel, the national ICAT project with the government of Eswatini translated analytical findings from previous work under ICAT into concrete policy action through the development of a draft National Bioenergy Policy. This policy is one of several policies and legislative instruments that support the implementation of Eswatini’s National Energy Policy. 

This work represented one strand of the broader ICAT project and was intended to provide clear direction to the biomass energy sector while supporting NDC implementation. To guide the process, a Bioenergy Task Force was established and chaired by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, with close coordination from the Climate Change Unit of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs. The Task Force brought together representatives of 12 key stakeholders, including from across the energy, forestry, regulatory and private sectors. Eight Task Force meetings and two national stakeholder workshops were held to develop, review and validate the draft policy. The task force report highlighted the potential for bioenergy, pointing at the significant feedstock of biomass produced as waste from the large sugar industry in the country and from forestry.

The draft Bioenergy Policy that resulted from the work of the task force focuses on creating an enabling environment for sustainable biomass-based electricity generation, reducing reliance on imported fuels through measures such as ethanol blending, and lowering fuelwood use through the promotion of efficient cookstoves and cleaner cooking alternatives. The ICAT project also supported the development of an associated MRV implementation plan to enable systematic tracking of policy implementation and emissions impacts, aligned with national transparency requirements and future BTRs.

Policy Impact and contribution to NDC ambition

The renewable energy component of the National Energy Policy, which was assessed using the ICAT Renewable Energy Methodology, was identified as an important mitigation measure in the update of Eswatini’s NDCs. Members of the team involved in the assessment, together with focal points from relevant ministries, confirmed that the assessment directly influenced the drafting of Eswatini’s NDCs, which has since been approved by Cabinet and biomass power plants are now under development.

The ICAT country project supported Eswatini to understand the renewable energy and bioenergy potential to make informed policy decisions. “We used the results of the assessment to come up with measurable goals and set targets, as well as develop realistic projections,” explained Thembinkosi Ndzimandze, Senior Energy Officer at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, and Chair of the Bioenergy Taskforce.

Eswatini’s experience underscores the importance of policy impact assessment in bridging the gap between ambition and implementation. By combining national capacity-building with rigorous application of ICAT methodologies, the country was able to align energy policy, bioenergy potential and NDC ambition. Using transparency to engage stakeholders from both public and private sectors has helped overcome some of the barriers that have constrained bioenergy from reaching its potential for decades. This demonstrates the value of ICAT’s guidance in supporting evidence-based, highimpact climate action and the value of transparency in driving informed policy processes to advance national development objectives.