African countries have secured $900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels with cleaner alternatives, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced Thursday. This latest pledge increases the total commitments to over $3.1 billion, building on the $2.2 billion mobilized at the inaugural Africa Clean Cooking Summit in Paris in 2024.
The funding will be directed toward increasing access to cleaner cooking fuels, stoves, and related infrastructure throughout Africa. The announcement was made during a virtual meeting on clean cooking convened by the IEA and Kenya, where leaders reviewed progress and set priorities for an upcoming summit later this year.
Nearly 1 billion people in Africa currently lack access to clean cooking, relying on traditional fuels like charcoal and firewood. The IEA estimates that these polluting fuels contribute to approximately 850,000 premature deaths annually.
The virtual meeting included Kenyan President William Ruto, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, African Union commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Lerato Mataboge, and IEA executive director Fatih Birol. Clean cooking involves using low-emission fuels such as ethanol, biogas, and electricity instead of traditional sources, which helps reduce household air pollution and improve health.
"Access to clean cooking is one of the most impactful yet overlooked challenges of our time," said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, emphasizing its direct effect on billions of people, particularly women and children.
Kenyan President William Ruto highlighted that financing remains a significant barrier to achieving universal access to clean cooking technologies in Africa. "Ambition alone is not enough. It must be backed by investment," he stated.
According to IEA data, approximately $740 million, representing about one-third of the commitments made in Paris, has already been deployed across 22 African countries. IEA executive director Fatih Birol noted that the additional $900 million in commitments signifies growing momentum, with further support anticipated before the next summit.
The IEA also released a report detailing that governments have implemented 121 new clean cooking policies in over 30 African countries since the Paris summit. These countries collectively account for roughly 80% of Africans without access to clean cooking solutions.
The agency is collaborating with the African Union to assist governments in strengthening national clean cooking policies as part of a continent-wide strategy and action plan leading up to the next summit. Additionally, a new public-private Clean Cooking Security Programme has been launched to bolster global supply chains for cooking fuels, particularly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This initiative addresses concerns about supply chain disruptions, such as those experienced through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year, which affected a significant portion of globally traded LPG. More than 3.4 billion people worldwide depend on LPG for their primary cooking needs.
The program will offer technical assistance to countries aiming to enhance fuel security and promote international cooperation on clean cooking supply chains.