Africa's Top Choice for Cleaner Cooking, Experts Say

Africa's growing population desperately needs clean, modern energy in the home. Currently, more than 900 million people, 85% of the region's population, still rely on solid biomass fuel (like wood and charcoal) and kerosene for cooking. These energy sources are highly polluting, inefficient and unsafe, writes Nigel Bruce and Dan Pope for The Conversation.

To address this issue, many African countries are working on developing scalable renewable energy resources such as solar PV, wind, hydro, geothermal, ethanol, and biogas. The International Energy Agency has identified liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the most important interim clean cooking fuel during this transition. LPG is a byproduct of oil and gas production and refining. Although it's a fossil fuel, it's one of the least damaging to the climate.

Clean cooking access in sub-Saharan Africa needs to improve around 15 times faster over the 2022-2030 period than it has before. As experts on the impact of air pollution on public health, argue that realistically, for the next 10-20 years, LPG is the only cleaner fuel that ticks all the boxes. It is popular, meets household needs, is easy to store and transport, and - crucially - is available now in the quantities needed.

However, barriers to adoption include affordability, reliability, and safety concerns. Donors are hesitant to invest in LPG due to it being a fossil fuel. The international community should support African governments in promoting LPG alongside renewables for universal clean energy access by 2030.