African leaders meeting in Paris are vowing to increase the drive, to provide clean energy cooking solutions to their citizens, in the face of accelerated effort on just transition.
Leading the pledge Sierra Leone President Dr Julius Bio says 900 million Africans still use firewood and traditional stoves, projecting an increase in these numbers by 2030.
Clean cooking, a matter of utmost importance, is often overlooked in our energy access and electrification planning processes in our countries. Today’s summit is a call to action, a plea to prioritise this critical issue for the betterment of our people and our planet.
President Bio- Sierra Leone
The summit on clean cooking in Paris France organised by the International Energy Agency(IEA) and the Clean Cooking Alliance seeks to reinforce the urgency in prioritising clean cooking on the global agenda.
Key figures in attendance were Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan the co-chair, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr and President Akinwumi Adesina of the African Development Bank ADB .
Also in attendance was Dr Fatih Birol, Executive director of the international energy agency IEA.
PHOTOS-MOHAMMED SESAY-M.EDITOR AIMNET NEWSPAPER-SIERRA LEONE
ENERGY INVESTMENTS-COSTS
The discussions at the inaugural summit, centred on the urgent need to mobilise financial commitment and integrating clean cooking solutions into broader policy frameworks.
The African Development bank pledged to allocate 20pc of its annual energy lending towards clean cooking solutions, aiming to generate $2billion over the next decade.
Estimates suggest that $4 billion is required annually to achieve universal cooking access in sub saharan Africa by 2030.
The United Nations SG Antonio Guterres recently urged developed countries to prioritise financial assistance to developing countries towards just transition. African countries were also directed to support initiatives to end the use of fossil fuel and have tangible energy climate plans by 2025.
President Bio said Africa must hasten its pace towards clean energy to achieve the Global Net Zero target.
According to him, Sierra Leone records losses totalling $4.7 billion annually from the heavy use of traditional energy cooking sources. The losses range from lost productivity in women, health and climate change impacts.
His country is implementing a 9 step strategy towards clean cooking energy solutions.
We must be bold enough to implement the right policies and create the enabling environment to ensure that the close to 1 billion people currently lacking access to clean cooking in Africa can transition to cleaner fuels and technologies.
President Bio-Sierra Leone
The summit was held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 14th May 2024.
| PART OF SIERRA LEONES 9 STEP STRATEGY ON CLEAN COOKING | TIME FRAME | PARTNER | PROGRAM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just and Inclusive Energy Transition Plan/Green Growth Plan-Complete clean cooking strategy and action plan. | JUNE-2024 | WORLD BANK | SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL |
| Establish Clean Cooking Delivery Unit | IMMEDIATE | CLEAN COOKING ALLIANCE | PRESIDENTIAL INITIATIVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE,RENEWABLE ENERGY AND FOOD SECURITY |
| Establish a climate finance and energy innovation hub. | IMMEDIATE | OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT | |
| Undertake a techno-economic study and readiness assessment for electric cooking in urban areas | IMMEDIATE | UNIVERSITY OF LOUGHBOROUGH,MODERN ENERGY COOKING SERVICES (MEC) |
| TERMS EXPLAINED |
|---|
| GLOBAL NET ZERO |
| State where emissions of carbon dioxide due to human activities and removals of these gases are in balance over a given period. |