Clean cooking, particularly liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is projected to be available to only 77% of the global population by 2030, leaving around 1.9 billion people without access, including 1.1 billion in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Gas Exporting Countries Forum's (GECF) 2050 Outlook report.
The report showed that residential buildings are the largest energy-consuming sector in Africa.
According to the report, housing accounted for 56% of Africa's energy consumption in 2022, with biomass being the dominant energy source, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The report explained that the main reason behind the significantly higher biomass consumption in African households compared to other regions of the world is the lack of access to reliable, affordable and sustainable modern energy sources.
Households in the region, therefore, have no energy alternative but to rely on dung and wood.
According to the report, women and children have to bear the heaviest burden of gathering these fuels, which have been harmful to their health.
'In Sub-Saharan Africa, households without access to clean cooking facilities typically spend an average of 2 hours each day collecting fuel. In addition, they spend 3 hours on cooking and food preparation. The health consequences of using traditional stoves and open fires for cooking are severe,' the report said.
Domestic air pollution is the second leading cause of premature deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa, causing about 700,000 deaths a year, 60% of whom are women and children.
According to the report, the transition from traditional biomass to LPG can help reduce the 'terrible' health risks associated with particulate matter resulting from gas reactions.
GECF cited in the report that such a transition could save around 400,000 lives a year in Africa by reducing exposure to particulate matter in the environment.
According to the United Nations, the proportion of individuals with access to clean cooking fuels and technologies increased by only 7% from 2015 to 2021.
However, the GECF said there has been significant and steady progress in South and Southeast Asia, particularly in countries such as India and Indonesia, in contrast to Sub-Saharan Africa, where the region has the lowest access rates. Here, advances in clean cooking solutions have not kept pace with the growing population.
A total of 900 million people were left without access in 2021, and if current trends continue, only 77% of the global population is projected to have access to clean cooking solutions by 2030, leaving around 1.9 billion people without access, 1.1 billion of them in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Citing various initiatives in India as an example, the report highlighted that the number of people using LPG will increase by 300 million from 2015 to 2022.
It also advocated for LPG, a clean, efficient, and easily accessible cylinder-storable source that can reduce health hazards.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr