By John Ikani
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pledged a significant $2 billion investment to promote clean and safe cooking solutions across Africa, particularly benefiting women and children.
The commitment represents a substantial 20% of the bank’s annual energy budget, as announced by AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina at a recent clean cooking conference in Paris.
At the event, Adesina stressed the far-reaching impact of clean cooking, stating it goes beyond simply preparing meals.
According to him, it’s about fundamental human rights – dignity, fairness, and justice – particularly for women.
Adesina further highlighted the environmental benefits, with clean cooking methods projected to save at least 200 million hectares of forests globally, including a substantial 110 million hectares in Africa, by 2030.
“Access to clean cooking is more than cooking. It is about human dignity, fairness, justice, and equity for women. It is more than the lighting of the stoves; it is about life.
“Access to clean cooking will save at least 200 million hectares of forests globally, with 110 million being in Africa, by 2030.
“The African Development Bank will play a major part in this collective effort and will now allocate 20% of all its financing for energy in Africa to clean cooking.
“I am therefore pleased to announce that the African Development Bank will commit $2 billion to clean cooking over the next ten years,” Adesina said.
France Joins the Effort
France acknowledged the AfDB’s leadership in promoting clean cooking solutions across Africa.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged a €100 million ($108.6 million) commitment over five years to support the development and implementation of clean cooking technologies in Africa.
In addition, France will leverage initiatives like the Paris Pact for People and the Planet and Finance in Common to secure further funding for this critical project.
“As part of the Paris Pact for People and the Planet, and with the commitment of Tanzania, Norway, the International Energy Agency, the AfDB, and many other partners, we are taking a step forward against this silent scourge today.
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“We are mobilizing $2.2 billion to provide clean alternatives to populations in Africa.
“France pledges to invest €100 million over five years in clean cooking methods and will mobilize even more through the Paris Pact for People and the Planet and Finance in Common,” Macron said.
A Multifaceted Approach
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan emphasized the multifaceted benefits of clean cooking in Africa.
It not only protects the environment and combats climate change, but also improves public health and promotes gender equality.
President Hassan urged the international community to significantly replenish the African Development Bank Group’s concessional window, the African Development Fund, for the next three-year cycle.
“This summit underscores our commitment to advancing this agenda and providing a framework towards universal adoption of clean cooking fuels and technologies across the continent.
“To guarantee resources for clean cooking, this summit has to call for a generous next replenishment of the African Development Fund that includes $12 billion for clean cooking,” President Suluhu said.
The summit garnered pledges totalling $2.2 billion from both the public and private sectors.
