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Africa secures $900 million in new clean cooking commitments
The pledge lifts total commitments to more than $3.1 billion as officials say 740 million has already been deployed across 22 African countries.
On Thursday, African nations secured $900 million in new commitments to expand clean cooking access, bringing total funding to more than $3.1 billion during a virtual meeting convened by the International Energy Agency and Kenya.
Nearly 1 billion Africans currently lack access to clean cooking, relying on polluting fuels like charcoal and firewood that the IEA says contribute to an estimated 850,000 premature deaths annually.
Governments have implemented 121 new clean cooking policies across more than 30 countries since the 2024 Paris summit, while the newly launched Clean Cooking Security Programme aims to strengthen global LPG supply chains.
This security initiative responds to shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year that affected about 30% of globally traded LPG, addressing fuel supply vulnerabilities across the continent.
Kenyan President William Ruto, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, African Union commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Lerato Mataboge, and Fatih Birol reviewed progress and emphasized that financing remains the primary obstacle to universal access.
African countries have secured US 900 million new financial commitments to expand access to clean cooking technologies, which replace polluting fuels, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday.