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AN OPEC FUND KNOWLEDGE SERIES REPORT
OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO CLEAN COOKING
GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
NOVEMBER 2024
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 8
1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA ................................................................ 10 What is clean cooking and why does it matter?.......................................................11 What progress is being made on clean cooking?....................................................13 Clean cooking and the global development agenda..............................................16 Financing clean cooking...................................................................................................19 2. CHALLENGES IN THE CLEAN COOKING TRANSITION ................................................................. 24 Affordability......................................................................................................................... 25 Sociocultural factors.........................................................................................................27 Fuel stacking........................................................................................................................28 3. CLEAN COOKING SOLUTIONS .................................................................... 30 Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)......................................................................................31 Electric cooking..................................................................................................................35 Biogas and bioethanol......................................................................................................37 Improved biomass cookstoves.....................................................................................40 Weighing up the costs, benefits and trade-offs......................................................42 4. OPTIONS FOR SCALING UP CLEAN COOKING ...................... 44 Governments........................................................................................................................45 Private sector.......................................................................................................................49 Development partners.......................................................................................................51 Making carbon finance work for clean cooking.......................................................55
5. THE OPEC FUND’S APPROACH TO CLEAN COOKING: GOALS FOR THE FUTURE ................................................................................ 56
6. LESSONS LEARNED AND CONCLUSION ........................................ 64
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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More than two billion people around the world rely on traditional fuels such as kerosene, wood and charcoal for their daily cooking. The continued use of these fuels poses serious health risks through household air pollution, with women and children being the worst affected. Traditional cooking methods contribute to ap- proximately 3.7 million premature deaths annually and significant environmental degradation and climate change. Clean cooking involves using fuels and technologies that produce little to no house- hold air pollution such as electric stoves, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas and improved biomass cookstoves. THE GLOBAL CLEAN COOKING AGENDA Clean cooking has emerged as a critical component of the global development agenda. It was incorporated into the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7) and has been a prominent theme at international climate conferences. Clean cooking is crucial for public health, environmental protection and socio- economic development. It has grown in scale and complexity, encompassing a wide range of technologies, fuels, business models and innovative funding instruments. Despite the recognized importance, the transition to clean cooking remains slow and challenging. Between 2010 and 2021 global access to clean cooking increased by only 1.4 percentage points annually, with most progress concentrated in a few populous developing countries. Today, roughly three-quarters (74 percent) of those without access to clean cooking are located in just 20 countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Investment levels are significantly below the required US$8 billion annually to achieve universal access by 2030.
People who rely on traditional fuels worldwide:
2 BILLION
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SOLUTIONS AND PATHWAYS TO SCALE A range of clean cooking solutions are available, each with its own set of benefits and trade-offs: Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): LPG is clean at the point of use, reduces time spent collecting fuel and has lower emis- sions than biomass. However, its large-scale adoption often requires subsidies. Electric Cooking: E-cooking is efficient and clean but de- pends on reliable electricity access. Advances in electrifica- tion and falling appliance costs make it an increasingly viable option. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, 43 percent of house- holds lack electricity. Biogas and Bioethanol: These renewable fuels offer co-bene- fits such as improved waste management and reduced emis- sions. Nevertheless, biogas production requires significant infrastructure investment, while bioethanol depends on sus- tainable agricultural supply chains. Improved Biomass Cookstoves: These stoves are more ef- ficient and produce fewer emissions than traditional stoves. They are a transitional solution, especially in rural areas, but their health benefits are sometimes questioned due to lower- than-expected emission reductions in real-world conditions.
CHALLENGES IN THE TRANSITION TO CLEAN COOKING The transition to clean cooking faces several barriers: Affordability: The cost of new cooking appliances and fuels remains a significant constraint for low-income households. Improved cookstoves cost around US$15-30, LPG stoves US$50-100 and biogas systems require a substantial upfront investment (2024 prices). Sociocultural Factors: Traditional cooking practices and gen- der roles influence the adoption of clean cooking solutions. Cultural attachments to traditional cooking methods and gender norms that limit women’s decision-making power are significant barriers. Fuel Stacking: Many households retain traditional methods alongside newer clean cooking solutions, reducing the overall benefits. This practice, known as fuel stacking, reflects both cultural preferences and economic constraints.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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THE ROLE OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS Achieving universal access to clean cooking requires con- certed efforts from multiple stakeholders: Governments: Governments play a crucial role in setting policies, providing subsidies, developing infrastructure and promoting public education. Integrated energy plans and national strategies are essential for coordinating efforts. Private Sector: The private sector is vital for producing and distributing clean cooking technologies at scale. Firms need to invest in understanding local markets and driving techni- cal innovation. The growth in private investment, though en- couraging, is concentrated among a few large players. Development Partners: Development partners will be instru- mental in providing the funding, technical assistance and support for accessing carbon finance.
Clean cooking fits well with the OPEC Fund’s strategic ob- jectives and focus areas as defined in its updated Strategic Framework 2030. It also aligns with the Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2022, which commits the OPEC Fund to increase climate finance to at least 25 percent of all new financing by 2025 and 40 percent by 2030. In the coming years, the OPEC Fund will concentrate on sev- eral key strategies to enhance the impact of its clean cook- ing investments. A primary focus will be on scaling up inno- vation by prioritizing new technologies and business models that can be adapted and scaled across various national con- texts. This approach aims to accelerate the deployment of clean cooking solutions, ensuring they are both effective and adaptable to diverse environments. Additionally, the OPEC Fund will expand its partnerships, working closely with re- gional and international stakeholders to foster knowledge ex- change and mobilize additional resources, thereby increasing the reach and effectiveness of its initiatives. Another critical strategy involves leveraging digital tools to improve the monitoring, evaluation and scaling of clean cook- ing solutions. By incorporating advanced digital technolo- gies, the OPEC Fund will seek to refine its strategies, enhance the efficiency of its operations and maximize the impact of its investments. These digital advancements will play a cru- cial role in optimizing resource allocation and ensuring that the OPEC Fund’s initiatives are as effective as possible in pro- moting clean cooking.
THE OPEC FUND’S APPROACH TO CLEAN COOKING
The OPEC Fund has been a contributor to clean cooking ini- tiatives since the early 2000s, building knowledge and expe- rience in promoting innovative clean cooking solutions. This expertise has shaped the OPEC Fund’s approach to financ- ing and implementing clean cooking initiatives, positioning the OPEC Fund to help advance global climate and devel- opment goals.
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CONCLUSION This report provides an overview of the OPEC Fund’s clean cooking agenda, the progress made, the challenges faced and the most promising options for scaling up investment. It aims to spark dialogue with partner countries as they plan their clean cooking transitions, in addition to contributing to the global body of knowledge on clean cooking.
The OPEC Fund’s approach to clean cooking is grounded in several guiding principles. These include empowering partner countries to lead their initiatives, ensuring that clean cook- ing projects align with broader objectives (poverty reduction, climate action and maintaining fuel and technology neutrality) to offer a range of solutions tailored to the specific needs of different countries. The OPEC Fund also emphasizes inclu- sive development, ensuring that clean cooking solutions are accessible to marginalized communities, particularly women, low-income households and rural populations. To support these efforts, the OPEC Fund will explore sus- tainable financing models, including blended finance, re- sults-based finance and public-private partnerships, to at- tract and mobilize additional resources for clean cooking initiatives. Furthermore, the OPEC Fund is committed to capacity building and knowledge sharing, investing in the skills and expertise of partner countries and stakeholders to strengthen the implementation and impact of clean cooking projects. Through these strategic directions, the OPEC Fund aims to significantly scale up its support for clean cooking, contributing to universal access and advancing global efforts in climate resilience and sustainable development. In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Develop- ment Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), the OPEC Fund is committed to supporting the global target of achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2030.
40 % OPEC Fund climate finance target as percentage of all new financing by 2030:
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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More than two billion people around the world rely on kerosene, wood, charcoal and other biomass for daily cooking. 1 Often burned in open fires or basic cook- stoves these fuels pose serious health risks through household air pollution, with women and children the worst affected. They also contribute to environmental degradation and climate change. In recent years, as awareness of these harmful effects has grown, clean cooking has become an increasingly prominent part of the international development agenda. From its origins in small-scale pilot projects in the 1990s and 2000s, clean cook- ing has grown in scale and complexity to encompass a wide range of technolo- gies, fuels, initiatives, business models and funding instruments. Universal access to clean cooking was included as a target in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and was a prominent theme at the UN climate change conference COP28 in Dubai in December 2023. Clean cooking promises to deliver a range of benefits – for public health, the envi- ronment, emissions reduction and greater economic and gender equality. However, the transition to clean cooking is complex and needs careful planning. There are many possible clean cooking options and it is widely accepted that there is no one- size-fits-all solution for all countries or households. Each solution offers different benefits and drawbacks in terms of ease and cost of deployment, outcomes deliv- ered and local suitability. Achieving universal access will require concerted action from governments, the private sector and international financiers. To date, progress has been slow. Completing SDG 7’s target of “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030 is well off-track. Despite stakehold- er commitments and many promising initiatives the level of investment remains well short of what is required. Yet with a growing number of organizations and initi- atives helping put the conditions for investment at scale in place there are grounds for optimism that this may be about to change. The OPEC Fund for International Development has two decades of experience of working with partner countries in realizing their clean cooking ambitions. With growing interest among its member countries in supporting the clean cooking agenda, the OPEC Fund is working to scale up its investments as part of ambitious commitments on climate action and clean energy access.
1 IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (2024) Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-sdg7-the-energy-progress-report-2024
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This report underpins the further development of the OPEC Fund’s clean cooking portfolio, provide a platform for dia- logue with partners and contribute to the global body of knowledge on this important topic. It presents an overview of the clean cooking agenda – how far it has come, lessons learned and what are the most promising avenues for scal- ing up investment. It also outlines the OPEC Fund’s own approach to supporting its partner countries in their efforts towards universal access to clean cooking as part of their broader national strategies on energy access, food security and climate action, and highlights opportunities for further OPEC Fund engagement.
Universal access to clean cooking was included as a target in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and was a prominent theme at the UN climate change conference COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
INTRODUCTION
10
1
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WHAT IS CLEAN COOKING AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
3 MILLION by household air pollution: Premature deaths per year caused
Globally, approximately 2.1 billion people depend on firewood and other solid biomass, coal or kerosene as their primary cooking fuel. 2 The continued use of these fuels generates a set of adverse public health, environmental and socio- economic consequences that have been extensively studied. A transition to clean cooking reduces these damages by moving towards cooking fuels and technologies that meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global air quality guidelines. Accomplishing this transition encompasses a wide range of options, including high efficiency biomass cookstoves, biogas, alcohol fuels such as ethanol, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and on- and off-grid electricity (e-cooking). PUBLIC HEALTH The harm caused by traditional cooking methods can be divided into a number of categories. Exposure to household air pollution is a leading risk factor for a broad range of health conditions, including childhood pneumonia, chronic obstruc- tive pulmonary disorder, ischemic heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. 3 Through these conditions, household air pollution is estimated to cause more than three million premature deaths per year, including nearly a quarter of a million deaths of children under five. 4 In many parts of the world cooking tasks fall disproportion- ately on women and girls, making them particularly vulnerable to inhaling harmful fumes. Household smoke is also linked to maternal health challenges, including an increased risk of stillbirth and low birth weight. Household cooking is also the lead- ing cause of childhood poisoning through the accidental ingestion of kerosene and of severe burn injuries. Altogether, an estimated 86 million healthy life years were lost because of household air pollution in 2019, with the greatest burden falling on women in low-income settings. 5 That exceeds the 79 million healthy life years lost to road traffic accidents in the same year. 6
2 IEA (2024), SDG 7: Data and Projections, https://www.iea.org/reports/sdg7-data-and-projections
3 Smith, K, and Pillarisetti, A (2017), Household Air Pollution from Solid Cookfuels and Its Effects on Health, 3rd ed., https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30212117/; Clean Cooking Alliance (2022), Air Pollution, Health and Clean Cooking, Health Fact Sheet, https://cleancooking.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CCA-Health- Factsheet-ENGLISH.pdf 4 IEA (2023), A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All, https://www.iea.org/reports/a-vision-for-clean- cooking-access-for-all 5 WHO, Household aid pollution, December 2023, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ household-air-pollution-and-health 6 WHO Global Health Observatory: DALYs estimates 2000-2019, https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/ mortality-and-global-health-estimates/global-health-estimates-leading-causes-of-dalys
1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA
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TIME POVERTY, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN Women and children in low-income countries spend an aver- age of 10 hours per week gathering cooking fuel and tend- ing fires. 7 The socio-economic consequences are significant. This time poverty from the use of traditional fuels undermines women’s empowerment by taking up time that could other- wise be spent on livelihood activities, education and partic- ipation in community life. The annual economic cost is esti- mated at US$800 billion globally. 8 Research has found the time saved from using clean cooking methods could result in a 3-4 percent increase in daily income per household. 9 Wom- en and girls are also exposed to an increased risk of injury and violence while gathering fuel, particularly in conflict set- tings. An assessment by the United Nations High Commis- sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Chad found that 42 percent of women in refugee households experienced incidents of sexual or gender-based violence during firewood collection over a six-month period. 10
Traditional cooking fuels are also a driver of climate change. Land use change, principally from deforestation and forest degradation, accounts for an estimated 12-20 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 12 Roughly 30 per- cent of this comes from fuelwood harvesting. 13 In addition, many traditional fuels emit long-lived greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, as well as short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), including black carbon (soot). 14 Roughly 2 percent of global CO 2 -equivalent emissions are at- tributed to unsustainable harvesting and incomplete biomass combustion for household fuel consumption – roughly equiv- alent to emissions from the aviation sector. 15 However, SLCPs have an even larger impact on global temperatures and the climate system in the short run than CO 2 . With household en- ergy one of the most controllable sources of black carbon, clean cooking was identified at COP27 as a “breakthrough” area for halving emissions by 2030. 16
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The use of biomass for cooking is a significant driver of de- forestation and environmental harm. Fuelwood for household cooking and heating makes up 55 percent of all wood harvest- ed globally. 11 Unsustainable biomass harvesting for cooking can increase habitat losses and reduce biodiversity, exacerbate soil erosion and disrupt local water cycles. Many of the earli- est clean cooking initiatives were driven by a desire to protect the environment, before the additional detriments to health, livelihoods and climate were fully studied and understood.
7 Clean Cooking Alliance, Gender and Clean Cooking, undated, https:// cleancooking.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CCA-gender-sheet-ENGLISH.pdf 8 UN (2022), SDG 7 TAG Policy Briefs: Addressing Energy’s Interlinkages with other SDGs, https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Policy%20Briefs%20 -2022%20Energy%27s%20Interlinkages%20With%20Other%20SDGs.pdf 9 Simkovich SM, Williams KN, Pollard S, Dowdy D, Sinharoy S, Clasen TF, Puzzolo E, Checkley W. (2019) “A Systematic Review to Evaluate the Association between Clean Cooking Technologies and Time Use in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 27:16(13), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31252636/ 10 Clean Cooking Alliance (2014) Statistical Snapshot: Access to Improved Cookstoves and Fuels and its Impact on Women’s Safety in Crises, https:// cleancooking.org/binary-data/ATTACHMENT/file/000/000/331-1.pdf 11 Clean Cooking Alliance, Nature and Clean Cooking, 2024, https://cleancooking. org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Nature-and-Clean-Cooking-Factsheet.pdf
12 Charlene Watson and Liane Schalatek (2020) Climate Finance Thematic Briefing: REDD+ Finance, ODI, https://climatefundsupdate.org/wp-content/ uploads/2022/03/CFF5-REDD-Finance_ENG-2021.pdf 13 Clean Cooking Alliance (2022) Accelerating clean cooking as a nature-based climate solution, https://cleancooking.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ Accelerating-Clean-Cooking-as-a-Nature-Based-Climate-Solution.pdf 14 Black carbon is a major contributor to global climate change, possibly second only to CO 2 . Per unit of mass, black carbon has a warming impact on climate that is 460–1,500 times stronger than CO 2 . Black carbon is produced both naturally and by human activities and is a result of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels and biomass. 15 Clean Cooking Alliance (2023) Clean Cooking as a Catalyst for Sustainable Food Systems, https://cleancooking.org/reports-and-tools/clean-cooking-as-a- catalyst-for-sustainable-food-systems/ 16 Climate Champions (2022) Clean cooking named as a critical “Breakthrough” to halve emissions by 2030’, UNFCCC, https://climatechampions.unfccc.int/ clean-cooking-named-as-a-critical-breakthrough-to-halve-emissions-by- 2030/#:~:text=At%20COP27%2C%20the%20UN%20Climate,2.4%20billion%20 people%20through%20at
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WHAT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE ON CLEAN COOKING?
Rural households
Progress on the transition to clean cooking is tracked through two main meas- ures: i) the access rate (the share of the population with access); ii) and the ac- cess deficit (the total number of people without access). ACCESS RATES Global progress on clean cooking access has been slow, increasing by just 1.4 per- centage points annually between 2010 and 2021. 17 This progress has been heavily concentrated in a small number of the most populous developing countries. 18 Since 2010, roughly 80 percent of the progress in the global access rate comes from just three countries (see Figure 1). By contrast, in the 20 countries with the lowest ac- cess rates, progress has been far slower at below 0.4 percentage points between 2017 and 2021. 19 Today, roughly three quarters (74 percent) of those without access to clean cook- ing are located in 20 countries. In eight of these countries (all located in Africa), less than 10 percent of the population has access to clean fuels and technologies. Historically, there have been major discrepancies between urban and rural areas in access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Urban households often have more reliable access to the infrastructure required for clean cooking solutions such as the electricity grid and LPG fueling stations. Globally, roughly 88 percent of ur- ban households have access to clean cooking, compared to only 54 percent of ru- ral households. 20 This urban-rural access disparity has been gradually narrowing across every region except for sub-Saharan Africa, where only 7 percent of rural households have access to clean cooking (see Box 1). 21
with access to clean cooking in Africa:
7 %
BOX 1: URBAN VS RURAL ACCESS TO CLEAN COOKING
rates rose from 31 percent to 51 percent, narrow- ing the gap to 35 percentage points. By 2030 it will narrow further to 23 percentage points, if current trends continue. 24 Yet it remains likely that the great- est “last mile” clean cooking challenge will be en- countered in rural areas, where household incomes are lower and biomass can be collected from the environment without direct cost to the consumer. 25
Historically, there have been major discrepancies and between 2000 and 2010 the difference in access to clean cooking technologies between urban and rural areas stood at around 50 percentage points. 22 However, the gap has been narrowing. In urban areas clean cooking access rates rose only slightly over the past decade — from 82 percent in 2010 to 86 percent in 2021. 23 Over the same period rural access
Footnotes on next page
1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA
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FIGURE 1: Breakdown of global progress towards universal access to clean cooking since 2010
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10%
5% 0%
Source: WHO 2024a. LMICs = low- and middle-income countries
900 MILLION People in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to clean cooking:
“There are only five and a half years until the 2030 goal of universal access to clean cooking – and we are far away from this. BURN is now Africa’s leading clean cooking company and one of the only carbon project developers to cover the full carbon value chain, from project design and in-house monitoring to credit issuance and we’ve distributed over five million stoves. Over 900 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to clean cooking. The reliance on inefficient stoves and open fires bankrupts families, destroys forests and increases indoor air pollution, leading to the death of 600,000 people, mostly women and children, every year. If there are five people in the household and 200 million households there are about 196 million more households to go. It is not a small problem.” – BURN Manufacturing
17 WHO (n.d.) Air Pollution Data Portal, https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/ themes/air-pollution 18 IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (2024) Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, IEA (2024), Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-sdg7-the-energy-progress-report-2024
19 Ibid.
20 IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (2023) Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/data/files/download- documents/sdg7-report2023-ch2._access_to_clean_cooking.pdf
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Ibid.
25 International Energy Agency and the African Development Bank (2023) A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All, https://www.iea.org/reports/a-vision-for- clean-cooking-access-for-all
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ACCESS DEFICITS Most of the global population without access to clean cook- ing is located in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. While access rates in Asia are much higher (e.g., 68 percent in India and 87 percent in China), Asia still accounts for 55 percent of the global population without access to clean cooking due to its larger population size. India represents the largest share of the global access deficit with 360 million people lacking access, followed by China with 175 million. However, the ac- cess deficit has decreased consistently in East and South- east Asia since 2000 and in Central Asia and Southern Asia since 2010. Access deficits in sub-Saharan Africa have shown a clear upward trend, as the clean cooking transition has failed to keep pace with the region’s growing populations. Across sub-Saharan Africa, the population increased by an average of 26 million per year between 2010 and 2019, out- stripping access gains of eight million per year. The total number of people without access in Africa therefore contin- ues to grow at a rate of nearly 20 million people per year. If the trends continue, by 2030 three out of five people with- out access to clean cooking will live in sub-Saharan Africa. 26 Overall, the SDG target 7.1.2 of universal access to clean cook- ing is well off-track. The are many reasons for this, including the affordability of clean cooking solutions, consumer choice and value perception, the underfunding of the sector and a lack of awareness alternatives to traditional cooking prac- tices. Many countries are unlikely to reach universal access even by the 2050s unless there is a substantial increase in both the rate of investment and government prioritization. If current trends continue, an estimated 21 percent of the global population, more than a fifth of all people, will still lack access to clean cooking, leaving nearly 1.8 billion people ex- posed to the adverse health, environmental and economic effects of polluting cooking fuels and technologies. 27
FIGURE 2: Population (in millions) without access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia stated policies scenario.
2100 1800 1500 1200 900 600 300 0
Developing Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
2010
2015
2020 2025
2030
Source: IEA
People exposed to polluting cooking fuels and technologies by 2030:
1.8 BILLION
26 IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (2024) Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/data/files/download- documents/sdg7-report2023-ch2._access_to_clean_cooking.pdf 27 IEA, IRENA, UNSD, World Bank, WHO (2024) Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-sdg7-the-energy- progress-report-2024
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CLEAN COOKING AND THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AGENDA Clean cooking became part of the international development agenda during the 1980s and 1990s through initiatives piloting the introduction of improved cook- stoves to address concerns about fuel scarcity and help to reduce deforestation and indoor air pollution. These improved stoves burned biomass (firewood or charcoal) more efficiently than the traditional units they replaced, which it was hoped would reduce pressure on the environment. 28 Over time, as evidence grew on the health risks of household air pollution, there was increased interest in using clean cooking innovations to drive improvements in health, especially for women and children. The World Health Organization (WHO) led the way by promoting global monitoring and reporting of air pollution and its health impacts and by defining emission standards for clean cooking appliances. The focus on health drove an interest in the cleanest solutions, especially LPG and electrification, in view of doubts that improved cookstoves could deliver enough emission reductions for meaningful health impacts.
FIGURE 3: Clean cooking and the SDGs
Universal Clean Cooking Access
28 World Bank (2011) Household cookstoves, environment, health, and climate change: a new look at an old problem, https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/732691468177236006/ pdf/632170WP0House00Box0361508B0PUBLIC0.pdf
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More recently, the clean cooking agenda has also taken impe- tus from global commitments on clean energy. In the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Agenda, a clean cooking target was included in SDG 7 on access to affordable and clean energy. Figure 3 summarizes the many links between clean cook- ing and other SDGs, including on poverty reduction, hun- ger, health, gender equality and environmental protection. Clean cooking has been a recognized part of global cam- paigns for universal access to energy and has been the sub- ject of a range of recent high-profile initiatives, such as the Global Electric Cooking Coalition at COP28. A growing num- ber of countries have included household energy and clean cooking-related targets in their Nationally Determined Con- tributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change. 29 Multilateral development banks (MDBs) and devel- opment finance institutions (DFIs) are beginning to incorpo- rate clean cooking components into household electrification programs. Electricity companies such as utilities, mini-grid developers and solar home system companies are increasing- ly involved in the promotion of clean cooking in order to drive demand for their electricity supply services. Table 1 highlights a range of recent multi-stakeholder commitments to acceler- ate progress towards universal clean cooking access. Overall, interest in clean cooking has blossomed over the past decade. It has been the subject of a number of high- profile commitments and initiatives, summarized in Table 1.
In parallel, several platforms and networks have been estab- lished to take forward the agenda such as:
Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA): A global network of partners working to develop an inclusive clean cooking sector.
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL): An international or- ganization launched by the UN to accelerate action on SDG 7.
The World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and its Clean Cooking Fund .
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS): A UK-funded re- search program.
Energising Development (EnDev): A strategic partnership initiative coordinated by the Dutch and German governments that supports access to modern energy.
Modern Cooking Facility for Africa (MCFA): Supports clean cooking companies across African frontier markets.
Through these, and many other initiatives, clean cooking is increasingly diverse and vibrant, stimulating hope that this increased action will accelerate progress and deliver results at scale in developing countries.
29 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2015) ‘Paris Agreement’, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf
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TABLE 1: Recent International Commitments on Clean Cooking
COMMITMENT, DATE AND SIGNATORIES
International Energy Agency (IEA) Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa – May 2024 • The first ever high-level clean cooking summit focused on providing clean cooking access to the more than one billion people in Africa who currently lack it; close to 60 countries took part, with over 1,000 delegates in attendance. The summit mobilized US$2.2 billion in pledges from governments and the private sector. • Co-chaired by the leaders of the governments of Tanzania and Norway, the African Development Bank and the IEA. Global Electric Cooking Coalition – November 2023 • Enable mass transition (more than 10 percent of households and institutions) to e-cooking solutions in at least 10 countries by 2030. • An alliance of experts and advocates, anchored by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Energising Development (EnDev), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS). Council on Ethanol Clean Cooking – November 2022 • A multi-stakeholder platform launched at COP27 aimed at advancing ethanol as a clean cooking fuel by increasing awareness, capacities, ambition, and technology transfer in developing countries, least-developed countries, and Small Island Developing States. • Originally launched by the governments of Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Madagascar and Kenya, the council now has 21 members.
G20 Initiative on Clean Cooking and Energy Access 30 – September 2022 • A commitment to accelerating access to clean cooking and electrification by: i. Addressing data and finance gaps for off-track countries. ii. Consolidating approaches to clean cooking. iii. Assisting countries to develop national clean cooking and integrated energy plans. iv. Building public and private sector capacity in targeted countries. v. Supporting institutions and enabling frameworks. • Signatories: G20 Energy Ministers.
SDG 7 Multi-Stakeholder Energy Compact 31 – October 2021 • An initiative launched by the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) to unlock SDG 7 through clean cooking, inviting signatories to identify their own specific commitments and actions to deliver the SDG 7 targets. • Endorsed by a wide range of clean energy sector stakeholders, including firms and NGOs. UN Global Roadmap for Accelerated SDG 7 Action 32 – September 2021 • A pledge to accelerate action towards the SDG 7 targets, including on universal access to clean cooking, in recognition that the SDG 7 pledge of energy access for all is off-track. • Signatories: 130 heads of state and government and other stakeholders at the High-Level Dialogue on Energy.
30 G20 Energy Ministers Meeting Communique, September 2020, https://g20. utoronto.ca/2020/2020-g20-energy-0928.html 31 Clean Cooking Alliance (nd), Unlock the SDGs and Net-Zero with Clean Cooking: SDG 7 Multi-Stakeholder Energy Compact, UN, https://www.un.org/ sites/un2.un.org/files/clean_cooking_energy_compact_final.pdf
32 Global Roadmap for Accelerated SDG 7 Action in Support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2021), https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2021/11/hlde_outcome_-_ sdg7_global_roadmap.pdf
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FINANCING CLEAN COOKING Despite the growing dynamism of clean cooking, investment rates remain far short of what is required. 33 In 2023, the IEA estimated that achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2030 in accordance with SDG 7 would require annu- al investment of US$8 billion. Of this amount, 21 percent would need to be allo- cated to infrastructure and 79 percent to stoves and other end-use equipment. A large share of this will need to be publicly funded by governments and inter- national development partners in order to ensure that clean cooking solutions are affordable for even the poorest households. A significant proportion of the financing is expected to be raised from private sources (for example by leverag- ing public finance), including commercial finance and household purchases of stoves and fuels. 34 While the financing needs are substantial, the publicly funded component repre- sents only a small fraction of current international development assistance and cli- mate finance. It is also well below the estimated US$1.4 trillion in global health costs resulting from lack of access to clean cooking. 35
US$ 8 BILLION Comparatively small annual investment required in clean cooking access in accordance with SDG 7:
FINANCE PROVIDED TO DATE AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
Estimates of the current rates of investment vary significantly. IEA estimates total current clean cooking finance at around US$2.5 billion per year, with the majority being public investment, including from governments, bilateral donors, MDBs and DFIs. This represents around 30 percent of the total investment needed. However, other estimates put the figure much lower. A survey by CCA found that investment in clean cooking companies reached US$215 million in 2023 – a record high, but far short of the billions required. Total investment flows are dominated by debt (which in 2022 replaced equity as the largest source of funding for clean cooking) at 79 percent, with the remain- ing in equity (18 percent) and grants (3 percent). 36 Just over half the investment (54 percent) came from private sources, including local and international banks, large corporations and private fund managers. Around 43 percent came from multilateral sources, with the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, the largest single investor. 37
33 Corfee-Merlot, J., et.al., Achieving Clean Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa, Financing Climate Futures, OECD, 2019, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332467415_Achieving_Clean_Energy_Access_in_Sub- Saharan_Africa_-_A_case_study_prepared_for_the_OECD_project_Financing_Climate_Futures 34 IEA (2023), A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All, https://www.iea.org/reports/a-vision-for-clean- cooking-access-for-all
35 Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. (2020), https://www.esmap.org/
36 CCA (2023) Clean Cooking Industry Snapshot, 4th ed., 2023, https://cleancooking.org/reports-and- tools/2023-clean-cooking-industry-snapshot/
37 CCA (2023) Clean Cooking Industry Snapshot, 4th ed., 2023, p. 10, Ibid.
1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA
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TABLE 2: Comparing Investment Need in Lower-Middle-Income Countries across SDGs
SECTOR
2030 SDG GOALS
ANNUAL INVESTMENT NEEDED (ESTIMATE)
Clean cooking
Universal clean cooking (SDG target 7.1.2)
US$8 billion per year
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
Universal access to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6)
US$28.4 billion per year
Food systems
Zero hunger (SDG 2)
US$265 billion per year
Health
Global health targets (SDG 3)
US$371 billion per year
Education
Quality education for all (SDG 4)
US$461 billion per year
Sources: For clean cooking, IEA (2023), A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All, https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/180b8bee-3d30-4436-abe0-9e93ca56b0bd/AVisionforCleanCookingAccessforAll.pdf For other SDG targets: UNCTAD website: The costs of achieving the SDGs: Resource, https://unctad.org/sdg-costing/resources
and evaluate a complex set of solutions in markets with low consumer affordability and with limited reliable data on sup- ply and demand trends for clean cooking across markets. While these challenges are significant, they are progressively being overcome as the sector develops new technologies and business models that increase the affordability of clean cook- ing. There are a growing number of international financiers interested in supporting clean cooking, deploying a range of financial instruments from technical assistance grants to re- sults-based financing, and a range of debt and equity offers. As the barriers to scaling up clean cooking are resolved, more financiers will likely be attracted.
The growth in private investment is encouraging, signaling a maturing market and the growing commercial viability of clean cooking enterprises. However, the investment is concentrat- ed on a few large players with the seven leading clean cook- ing firms receiving 90 percent of all investment. As of 2020, there were an estimated 450-500 firms fully dedicated to the manufacturing and distribution of cookstoves. 38 However, few of them have yet been able to reach the volumes and econo- mies of scale that investors are looking for. Potential investors face a range of barriers, including a lack of proven business models, lack of investible pipeline, concerns about investee profitability, and lack of operational history. 39 These barriers are compounded by the need for investors to understand
38 Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. (2020), https://documents1. worldbank.org/curated/en/937141600195758792/pdf/The-State-of-Access-to- Modern-Energy-Cooking-Services.pdf 39 Cowdrey, O., Lant, P., and Ashworth, P., (2023) Elucidating Finance Gaps through Clean Cooking Value Chain, Sustainability, 14(4), https://www.mdpi. com/2071-1050/15/4/3577
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TABLE 3: A Growing Landscape of Clean Cooking Financiers
TYPE OF CAPITAL PROVIDER
EXAMPLES OF PROVIDERS
TYPICAL FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
Bilateral development agencies
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK),
• Energy access programs which include clean cooking research & development and corporate grant programs • Results-based financing • Blended finance
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, International Development Cooperation (Netherlands), U.S. Agency for International Development
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) and development finance institutions (DFIs)
OPEC Fund for International Development, World Bank Group,
• Sovereign and
non-sovereign loans
Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank,
• Indirect financing via debt or equity funds • Technical assistance • Results-based grants, e.g. World Bank Clean Cooking Fund • Grants, e.g. for institution building and policy-making or risk-tolerant equity • Early-stage debt to high-risk companies • First loss and other subordinated debt
Inter-American Development Bank, Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), British International Investment, Nordic Development Fund
Private foundations
Osprey Foundation, Shell Foundation
Impact investors/private investment funds
Equity funds: e.g. Acumen, Energy Access Ventures, Novastar Ventures, ENGIE Rassembleurs, IIX Growth Fund Debt investors and funds:
• Equity and debt generating both financial return and socio-economic impact
e.g. SIMA, Oikocredit, AlphaMundi, Triodos
Crowdfunding
Peer-to-peer lending platforms: Lendahand, Trine Bettervest, Crowd Credit (Japan)
• Loans for small and medium- sized enterprises at different stages of development • Loans for micro enterprises
N/A
Venture debt platforms: Kiva
• Donations and rewards
1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA
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One of the most promising avenues for scaling up investment is carbon finance – the buying and selling of carbon credits to help offset greenhouse gas emissions. Many in the sector view it as a game changer despite recent doubts over the val- ue of some carbon credits schemes. The global voluntary carbon market surpassed US$2 billion in 2021. 40 Clean cooking is an attractive investment for car- bon financiers, given its potential to not just tackle climate change, but also to deliver co-benefits for public health and gender equality, amongst others. Carbon credits for clean cooking have doubled in price over the past decade, while company revenues from carbon cred- its have increased 45-fold since 2017, accounting for 22 per- cent of clean cooking firms’ revenues in 2022. 41 Carbon cred- its offer a promising route to scale, enabling participating companies to offer lower prices to consumers and thereby build a market. They also help to mobilize private finance by offsetting risk.
Global voluntary carbon market surpassed in 2021:
US$ 2 BILLION
40 Voluntary carbon market value tops US$2B, Climate Trade, 4 August 2022, https://climatetrade.com/voluntary-carbon-market-value-tops-us2b/ 41 CCA, 2023 Clean Cooking Industry Snapshot, 4th ed., 2023, https:// cleancooking.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/CCA-2023-Clean-Cooking- Industry-Snapshot.pdf
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1. THE CLEAN COOKING AGENDA
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Encouraging the adoption of clean cooking practices is a complex undertaking. It is often described as a two-step challenge: the initial uptake of a new cooking method, followed by its sustained use over time. To succeed, there are two major challenges that any clean cooking initiative must overcome. First, it needs to be affordable for consumers in low-income settings. Second, participating house- holds need to change cooking practices that are often deeply ingrained. This section considers what has been learned about these challenges and how they can be addressed. AFFORDABILITY Across all countries the uptake of clean cooking is concentrated among higher-in- come groups with the poorest lagging behind. This pattern holds even in countries where substantial public subsidies are in place to improve affordability. This makes it clear that cost, unsurprisingly, is a key factor in clean cooking access. While the cost of transitioning to clean cooking varies by technology and context, in most cases it requires upfront investment in a new cooking appliance and gen- erates fuel costs. The simplest improved cookstoves are priced at US$15-30, rep- resenting around a third of monthly income in low-income households in sub-Sa- haran Africa. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-powered and electric stoves average US$50-100, or between one half and three-quarters of monthly income, while bi- ogas stoves and digesters can be several times more expensive. 42 So far, few con- sumers in developing countries have spent more than US$30 on their primary cookstoves. 43 In terms of recurrent costs, many households without clean cooking already pur- chase solid fuels such as charcoal and firewood, which represents a significant out- lay for them each month. In these cases, improved biomass cookstoves can quickly repay the investment. However, for the many households that collect their own bio- mass, fuel costs may be unaffordable. The affordability challenge also rises sharply in rural areas, where lack of infrastructure and weaker markets lead to higher dis- tribution and fuel costs. There is a range of potential solutions to the affordability challenge. Public subsidies may be necessary in order to lower the costs for the poorest households. However, experience shows that subsidy programs need to be well-designed and targeted. If not, they can create major fiscal burdens for governments and disproportionately
Average price of simplest improved cookstoves: US$ 15-30
42 IEA (2023) A Vision for Clean Cooking Access for All, World Energy outlook Special Report, https://www. iea.org/reports/a-vision-for-clean-cooking-access-for-all 43 ESMAP (2015) The State of the Global Clean and Improved Cooking Sector, https://www.esmap.org/sites/ esmap.org/files/DocumentLibrary/ESMAP_State_of_Globa_Clean_Improved_Cooking_sector_Optimized.pdf
2. CHALLENGES IN THE CLEAN COOKING TRANSITION
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