Outcomes of the Paris Clean Cooking Summit

A promise to commit more than $2bn to reduce a health and environmental emergency caused by cooking over open fires has been welcomed by Practical Action’s CEO.

Sarah Roberts attended a clean cooking summit for Africa this week. It had been identified as a pivotal moment for the future of clean cooking.

The conference brought together 1,000 delegates and saw commitments from governments, private sector companies, and international organisations to achieve universal access to clean cooking by 2024.

Cooking over open fires still accounts for 3.7 million premature deaths every year and mainly affects women and children. Dirty cooking also accounts for two per cent of global carbon emissions, equivalent to the aviation and shipping industries combined.

Sarah Roberts, CEO of Practical Action, said: “The Summit on Clean Cooking for Africa could mark a significant step change in the movement to achieve universal access to clean cooking.

“The commitments made by organisations, African and European governments and the African Development Bank illustrate the increasing political leadership needed to resolve the serious health, gender, and climate issues caused by a lack of clean cooking.”

Estimates of the costs for achieving clean cooking for all by 2030 are $8bn globally and $4bn in Africa, a fraction of total energy investments. Considerable financial commitments were made at the Summit, which together totalled $2.2 billion which is a positive start.

Practical Action was invited to the conference because of the organisation’s long history of working on clean cooking as a critical part of improving the lives of people in poverty, particularly women and girls and reducing deforestation.

Sarah continued: “Along with our partners, we will closely monitor the progress and implementation of commitments made at the summit.

“The announcements made by organisations such as the African Development Bank to allocate 20 per cent of their energy funding towards clean cooking, along with investments of $2 billion over the next decade are promising.

“But they must stimulate demand, strengthen supply chains, and ensure that clean cooking solutions are appropriate for different contexts; women need to be at the heart of decision-making.”

The Summit on Clean Cooking for Africa in Paris was organised by the International Energy Agency.

Read more about our work in energy access and clean cooking here.