Industry organisation the World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) has released the ‘LPG Roadmap for Africa’ report, which includes calls to action for the public and private sectors to achieve full access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

The roadmap is aimed at expanding access to clean cooking solutions across Africa by increasing the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The roadmap emphasises the need to establish clear, enforceable regulatory frameworks to scale up the LPG market in the region; implement a consumer financing and payment plan to overcome economic barriers; and invest in infrastructure and ways to improve storage, distribution and delivery networks in more remote areas to achieve the 2030 goal.

Switching households in Africa from firewood to LPG as a cooking fuel will reduce indoor air pollution from particulate matter by 98%, and thereby significantly decrease the number of premature deaths and health conditions caused by household air pollutants.

This would also save 1.2-million hectares of forest a year, which is equivalent to nearly one-quarter of current global deforestation, the WLGA says.

Switching households to LPG for cooking will also decrease emissions of black carbon, or soot, which is a powerful greenhouse gas, by 117-million tons of CO₂ equivalent a year, which nearly offsets Nigeria’s yearly CO₂ emissions.

Additionally, full access to clean cooking in Africa by 2030 would decrease emissions of CO₂ by 279-million tons a year, which is roughly equivalent to the yearly emissions from mid-sized countries such as Taiwan and Malaysia.

Nearly 2.5-billion people, or about one-third of the global population, are without access to clean cooking solutions, including more than 900-million people in Africa. Many families use traditional biomass fuels, such as coal, wood and dung, which emit harmful and toxic fumes and contribute to climate emissions and deforestation, the WGLA says.

“Access to clean cooking supplies will increase economic opportunities and standards of living, while reducing carbon emissions and environmental impacts,” says WLGA CEO James Rockall.

“An equitable, fit-for-purpose transition means empowering marginalised communities by reducing global energy poverty and fostering a more inclusive future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

“While the roadmap is an important step forward, the Cooking or Life Africa Task Force will work with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to realise these ambitions,” he notes.