Joint Press Release

For Immediate Release

Africa's Bold Commitment to Clean Cooking at COP29 Marks a Milestone for Sustainable Development

Baku, Azerbaijan – November 2024 – At COP 29, the Africa Pavilion hosted a pivotal high-level event, Addressing Clean Cooking Challenges in Africa, underscoring the critical importance of prioritizing clean cooking in global climate dialogues. The session called for urgent action to scale up clean cooking solutions across Africa, emphasizing its role in protecting public health, combating deforestation, reducing carbon emissions, and driving sustainable economic growth.

The joint event of the African Union Commission and the United Republic of Tanzania brought together influential leaders who stressed the importance of robust leadership and cross-sector collaboration in realizing a clean cooking future for all Africans.

The event featured powerful remarks from influential leaders, who emphasized the importance of advancing supportive policies, unlocking financing, and harnessing technology to overcome barriers to clean cooking access. Among the speakers were H.E. Philip Isdor Mpango, Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania; ministers from various African countries; senior officials from the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In his address, Vice President Mpango, representing President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, underscored the vital role of African leadership in driving the clean cooking agenda while encouraging youth innovation. “Considering Africa's young population, we must harness the creativity and innovation of our youth to develop tailored clean cooking solutions. In terms of financing, exploring options such as pay-as-you-go models, smart metering, and prepaid systems—allowing for installment payments—can make clean cooking solutions more accessible to a wider population."

Cognizant of its urgency the African Union Commission launched the African Clean Cooking Programme to drive the continent’s transition toward clean, sustainable cooking solutions.

In her opening remarks, Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission called for the shifting of the manufacturing, distribution, and supply chains of clean cooking technologies closer to those who need them most in Africa, to stimulate local economies, empower communities, and enhance energy access for all. “We call on all stakeholders to collaborate in building national fuel baskets, leveraging local energy resources, existing value chains, and infrastructure, to ensure a just clean cooking transition that supports socio-economic growth”.

According to Commissioner Abou-Zeid, “Investing in clean cooking is an investment in the future of our children and in the sustainability of our economies. This is not just a challenge but also an opportunity to build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable Africa for future generations.”

The event also reaffirmed Africa’s commitment to the Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action, where leaders pledged to create enabling environments, enact supportive policies, and drive investments in climate-conscious sectors, including clean cooking.

African Development Bank Vice President Kevin Kariuki said, “Africa’s just energy transition is incomplete without addressing the clean cooking gap given that around a billion Africans are still reliant on unstainable and polluting fuels,” reaffirming the Bank’s pledges of USD 2 billion in financing over 10 years to clean cooking, originally made at COP 28.

Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Dr Fatih Birol highlighted the importance of clean cooking as a global climate priority, “ensuring all Africans have access to clean cooking technologies is achievable this decade. The IEA is working closely with Tanzania and other countries across Africa and beyond — as well as the African Union and African Development Bank Group — to make 2024 a turning point following our major summit on the issue earlier this year that mobilized over $2 billion to help address this critical energy, gender, economic and climate challenge.”

Another significant moment during the event was the launch of the Sustainable Scaling: Meeting the Clean Cooking Challenge in Africa publication by the African Union’s Energy Commission (AFREC). The report provides insights into innovative technologies, financing mechanisms, and policy frameworks needed to support the transition to cleaner cooking.

African ministers present at the event expressed a unified commitment to accelerating the deployment of clean cooking technologies and ensuring that Africa leads the way in developing sustainable, innovative, and accessible solutions.Bottom of Form

Media Inquiries:

Ms. Bezayit Eyoel | Department of Infrastructure and Energy | African Union Commission | E-mail: BezayitE@africa-union.org|

Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org

Ms Irene Gowelle | Director of Communications and Corporate affairs Tanzania Electric Supply Company I irene.gowelle@tanesco.co.tz I