Africa: Roadmap to universal clean cooking by 2040

Harnessing existing technologies and implementing a data-driven approach could solve the access to clean cooking dilemma in Africa, where around a billion people continue to rely on polluting fuels to prepare meals.

A report released recently by the International Energy Agency (IEA) outlines a cost-effective, data-driven path to achieving universal access to clean cooking in Africa by 2040 – a shift the organisation says could save millions of lives, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and significantly cut emissions across the continent.

The report – Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa: Progress update and roadmap for implementation – offers a mapping of clean cooking infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa.

It details a roadmap based on real-world conditions, fuel supply chains and infrastructure realities – highlighting how African nations can replicate global best practices to close one of the continent’s most pressing health, environmental and development gaps.

The report notes that four in five households in Africa – around a billion people – still rely on polluting fuels like firewood, charcoal or dung. 

 

These cooking practices contribute to more than 800,000 premature deaths each year, primarily among women and children and place major burdens on health systems, forest resources and gender equality.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, said the continent stands at a turning point. 

“As geopolitical uncertainties dominate headlines and international cooperation is severely tested, lack of clean cooking access remains one of the great injustices in the world. This new IEA report provides a clear, data-driven roadmap for every household across Africa to gain access. The problem is solvable with existing technologies… and it would cost less than 0.1% of total global energy investment.”

Report follows up from clean cooking summit on Africa

The new roadmap builds on the momentum generated at the Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, co-hosted in Paris in 2024 by the IEA, the African Development Bank Group and the governments of Norway and Tanzania. 

The summit mobilised more than $2.2 billion in public and private sector commitments – the report highlights that more than $470 million has already been disbursed.

Since the summit, 10 of the 12 participating African governments have enacted or implemented new clean cooking policies. More than 70% of people without access now live in countries that have strengthened their policy frameworks since 2024, with 40 new national policies adopted.

Key movers include Kenya and Tanzania, which have made significant strides in expanding clean cooking coverage. 

Both countries have improved access at rates comparable to global success stories in Brazil, India and Indonesia. 

Over the past five years, Sub-Saharan Africa has seen a gradual acceleration in access, with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) accounting for three-quarters of all new connections.

Increasing access by seven-fold

The IEA’s new ACCESS scenario lays out a practical roadmap in which 80 million people gain clean cooking solutions each year – a sevenfold increase from current rates. 

Urban areas would reach near-universal access by 2035, while rural coverage would steadily expand throughout the 2030s.

Under the scenario, LPG would provide access to more than 60% of newly connected households, with electricity, bioethanol, biogas and advanced biomass cookstoves supplying the remainder. 

The roadmap requires a cumulative investment of $37bn to 2040 – $2bn per year – covering household equipment as well as critical infrastructure such as distribution networks and electricity grids.

The projected benefits are far-reaching, the report emphasises. 

These include: 

• Universal access could prevent 4.7 million premature deaths across Africa by 2040. 
• Women and girls, who currently spend an average of four hours daily collecting fuel and cooking, would reclaim roughly two hours each day – time equivalent to the entire annual working hours of Brazil’s labour force. 
• An estimated 460,000 permanent jobs could also be created across the clean cooking value chain.

Climate and development dividends

Beyond health and economic gains, clean cooking access offers significant environmental benefits. 

While scaling LPG and electricity use may raise some emissions, the report finds these are far outweighed by reductions in deforestation and incomplete biomass combustion.

By 2040, the roadmap would avert 540 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually – a quarter of Africa’s current energy-related CO₂ output.

The IEA says it will continue tracking progress on the 2024 Summit commitments, reporting on financing, policy delivery and real-world results. 

The report also coincides with growing continental political momentum. The African Union (AU) and Government of Tanzania – longstanding advocates for clean cooking access – championed the Dar es Salaam Declaration, signed by 30 Heads of State and adopted by the AU Assembly in February 2025.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan said that clean cooking is not a luxury.

“It’s an issue that touches every family, every day. From rural villages to growing cities, Tanzania is introducing new policies to support the most vulnerable. But we cannot do it alone. Continued support from partners and investors is essential.”

AU Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Lerato Mataboge, agreed.

“Clean cooking is a foundation for health, equality and economic empowerment, especially for women and girls. With strong political commitment, targeted finance and regional cooperation, we can make universal access a reality for every African household,” she said.

Despite recent momentum, the report warns that Africa is not on track to achieve clean cooking for all by 2030 – a core target under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. 

On current trends, access in Sub-Saharan Africa will rise from 23% today to 62% by 2050, leaving hundreds of millions still dependent on traditional fuels.

To meet SDG7 on time, more than 160 million people would need to gain access each year between now and 2030 – an unprecedented acceleration, says the report. 

The IEA argues this goal is still within reach, provided governments and partners scale up efforts immediately.

With South Africa holding the G20 Presidency in 2025, the report suggests a timely opportunity to galvanise global support for one of the most urgent and impactful investments for Africa’s future.

Cover photo:  The UNDP, FAO and UNACC held a clean cooking demonstration in Mbale City, Uganda early in 2025. Source: UNDP