- New pledges take total clean cooking commitments to US$3.1 billion since the inaugural 2024 Summit.
- More than 120 new clean cooking policies have been introduced across over 30 African countries.
- New programme launched to strengthen clean cooking fuel supply chains following global LPG disruptions.
Africa has secured US$900 million in new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking, reinforcing momentum ahead of the second IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa.
The new funding, announced during a high level virtual meeting of the Summit co chairs and partners, increases total commitments to US$3.1 billion following the US$2.2 billion pledged at the inaugural Paris Summit in 2024.
The meeting brought together Kenyan President William Ruto, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, United States Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, African Union Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure Lerato Mataboge, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol plus others.
Participants reaffirmed that clean cooking remains one of Africa’s most urgent energy access challenges, with almost one billion people across the continent still lacking access to modern cooking solutions. The continued reliance on traditional cooking fuels contributes to an estimated 850,000 premature deaths every year, while also creating significant health, environmental and economic impacts.
According to the International Energy Agency, US$740 million of the commitments made at the 2024 Summit has already been deployed across 22 African countries.
The agency also released a new progress report showing that 121 clean cooking policies have been introduced across more than 30 African countries since the first Summit. These countries account for around 80% of Africa’s population without access to clean cooking.
The African Union and the International Energy Agency are now working with governments to strengthen policy frameworks ahead of the next Summit as part of a continent wide clean cooking strategy and action plan.
During the meeting, the co chairs and co organisers, including the African Union and the African Development Bank, discussed maintaining political momentum and using global platforms such as the United Nations General Assembly, the G20 and COP meetings to attract additional investment and policy support.
The International Energy Agency also announced the launch of the Clean Cooking Security Programme, a new public and private sector initiative designed to strengthen global clean cooking supply chains.
The programme follows disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year, which affected around 30% of globally traded liquefied petroleum gas. LPG remains the world’s primary clean cooking fuel, serving more than 3.4 billion people worldwide. The initiative will provide policy support to improve domestic fuel security while promoting greater international cooperation on resilient clean cooking supply chains.
The virtual meeting also marked the first plenary session of the newly established Clean Cooking Alliance as a multilateral initiative hosted by the International Energy Agency. Twelve countries participated in the inaugural meeting, with additional countries considering membership. Working alongside the agency, the Alliance will support country led implementation and help convert financial commitments into measurable progress.
President William Ruto said closing Africa’s clean cooking access gap will require investment at scale, adding that annual financing remains well below the level needed to achieve universal access.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said clean cooking remains one of the most underfunded opportunities in global development and climate policy and called for stronger collaboration between governments, development partners and the private sector to accelerate deployment.
United States Secretary of Energy Chris Wright described clean cooking as one of the world’s most overlooked infrastructure challenges, saying expanded access to affordable and reliable propane gas could transform the lives of billions of people.
African Union Commissioner Lerato Mataboge said clean cooking represents not only an energy access priority but also a major economic opportunity capable of improving livelihoods and supporting Africa’s long term development ambitions under Agenda 2063.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
