Tanzania and the African Union (AU) collectively hosted a high-level facet occasion on the COP29 local weather summit in Azerbaijan, aiming to position clear cooking on the forefront of the worldwide local weather agenda.
The occasion, titled “Addressing Clear Cooking Challenges in Africa: A Name for African Management,” goals to convene African leaders, policymakers, and worldwide stakeholders to handle the urgent want for clear cooking options throughout the continent, the place 70 p.c of the inhabitants nonetheless depends on conventional cooking strategies.
The session underscored the significance of political dedication, progressive partnerships, and important monetary funding to advance sustainable, clear cooking applied sciences.
The African Union has prioritised clear cooking as a crucial element of each local weather motion and sustainable improvement by way of its African Clear Cooking Programme (ACCP).
This initiative helps efforts to extend entry to wash cooking options, cut back dangerous emissions, and enhance public well being whereas driving technological innovation in cooking strategies.
The ACCP aligns with the AU’s Agenda 2063, which envisions a affluent, built-in, and sustainable Africa.
Tanzania has emerged as a number one advocate, highlighting gender-focused approaches to tackling power and local weather challenges. At COP28 in 2023, President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the Africa Ladies Clear Cooking Assist Programme (AWCCSP), which aimed to lift consciousness, foster partnerships, and mobilise monetary assets for scaling clear cooking options.
A number of African nations have prioritised clear cooking of their nationwide power insurance policies. Ghana has recorded a 36 p.c improve in Liquefied Petroleum Fuel (LPG) adoption and reviews that 30 p.c of households use improved cookstoves, advancing power effectivity in home cooking.
Kenya has equally expanded entry, with 2.4 million residents now utilizing LPG for safer, inexpensive cooking.
Clear cooking options are integral to local weather methods, probably lowering emissions by as much as 1.5 gigatons by 2030. The transition helps Sustainable Improvement Purpose 7 (inexpensive and clear power) and intersects with different targets, equivalent to SDG 3 (good well being and well-being), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 13 (local weather motion).
Through the occasion, the African Union Power Fee (AFREC) will unveil a report titled “Sustainable Scaling: Assembly the Clear Cooking Problem in Africa.”
The publication outlines pathways to scale clear cooking applied sciences, emphasising the necessity for progressive financing fashions and coverage frameworks. It underscores public-private partnerships as essential to unlocking investments vital for reaching common entry to wash cooking by 2030.
The report requires enhanced political dedication and coordination amongst African governments to combine clear cooking into nationwide power and local weather methods, setting the stage for larger innovation and sustainable improvement.
The COP29 facet occasion will function a platform for African nations to have interaction with worldwide companions and the non-public sector, showcasing Africa’s management in addressing international local weather challenges.
