Africa’s Clean Cooking Efforts Receive Significant Boost
African countries have made significant strides in their efforts to improve access to clean cooking technologies, with a new commitment of $900 million to expand the use of low-emission fuels and technologies. The funding pledge, announced by the International Energy Agency (IEA), brings the total commitments to more than $3.1 billion, which will be used to expand access to cleaner cooking fuels, stoves, and related infrastructure across the continent.
The IEA, in collaboration with Kenya, convened a virtual meeting on clean cooking in Africa, which brought together leaders from various countries to review progress made since the last summit and outline priorities ahead of the next gathering later this year. The meeting highlighted the urgent need to address the issue of clean cooking, with nearly 1 billion people across Africa still lacking access to clean cooking, relying instead on polluting fuels that contribute to an estimated 850,000 premature deaths each year.
Clean cooking refers to the use of low-emission fuels and technologies, such as ethanol, biogas, and electricity, instead of traditional fuels like charcoal and firewood. The transition reduces harmful household air pollution and improves health outcomes for millions of African households. The IEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol, emphasized the importance of access to clean cooking, stating that it directly affects the lives of billions of people, particularly women and children.
The IEA has also released a report showing that governments have introduced 121 new clean cooking policies across more than 30 African countries since the Paris summit. The agency is working with the African Union to help governments strengthen national clean cooking policies under a continentwide strategy and action plan ahead of the next summit.
The IEA has also launched a new public-private Clean Cooking Security Programme aimed at strengthening global supply chains for cooking fuels, particularly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The program will provide technical assistance to countries seeking to improve fuel security while exploring ways to strengthen international cooperation on clean cooking supply chains. The initiative follows shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year that affected about 30% of globally traded LPG, which is used by over 3.4 billion people worldwide as their primary cooking fuel.
Kenya’s President William Ruto emphasized the need for investment to achieve universal access to clean cooking technologies across Africa, stating that ambition alone is not enough. The IEA’s latest tracking showed that $740 million, or about one-third of the commitments announced in Paris, has already been deployed across 22 African countries.
