World Liquid Gas Association joins hundreds of stakeholders in signing historic Clean Cooking Declaration at the IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa

The World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) is proud to be supporting the International Energy Agency (IEA) at the first-ever Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa. WLGA will join hundreds of world leaders and industry organisations gathering today with the aim of making 2024 the pivotal year for clean cooking in Africa. As part of this, WLGA will sign the Clean Cooking Declaration calling for increased financing, supportive government policies, and multilateral partnerships to realise targets.

Aligned with these efforts, WLGA today announces the establishment of the Cooking For Life Africa Task Force (CFLA), an industry initiative dedicated to promoting increased access to affordable and sustainable LPG for cooking across Africa. This will include developing an Africa LPG Roadmap, to be launched at COP29, and a commitment to gather and share feedback, information, data and policy asks between the LPG industry, the IEA and other stakeholders in an effort to support clean cooking initiatives.

As a clean-burning fuel, LPG will have an essential role in advancing clean cooking globally. Today, 2.3 billion people – largely within the Global South – are without access to clean cooking solutions, and air pollution from dirty cooking fuels causes 3.7 million premature deaths per year. LPG is a scalable and available solution that produces virtually no harmful soot or particulate matter, and can largely solve the issue of provision of clean cooking in Africa, now.

James Rockall, CEO and Managing Director of WLGA, commented:
“Universal access to clean cooking means greater gender equality, healthier living conditions, and more economic opportunities for communities across Africa. However, achieving this goal requires investment, regulatory support, and collective action across the public and private sector. Today marked an important milestone in helping protect some of the most vulnerable communities in the world. However, make no mistake, we still have lots of work to do.”

About Cooking For Life Africa Task Force
The Task Force currently comprises five permanent members (Equinor, Petredec, Oryx Energies, S&P Global, TotalEnergies). In addition, the Task Force will engage with other stakeholders such as the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) and the Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP). It will work to develop an Africa LPG Roadmap, which will be launched at COP29, and a commitment to gather and share market data and other key safety, operational and good practice information that pertains to the LPG business. Regular progress assessments and periodic working groups will be convened to ensure effective implementation of commitments.

About the IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa
Held on 14 May 2024 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the IEA is convening global leaders for a Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa to make 2024 a turning point for progress on ensuring clean cooking access for all.
The Summit will focus on elevating clean cooking on the global agenda and mobilising support; mobilising financial commitments across the stakeholder universe; and developing a roadmap of concrete, action-oriented strategies to help scale efforts.

For more information, visit: https://www.iea.org/events/summit-on-clean-cooking-in-africa

Clean cooking with LPG can help improve indoor air quality, reducing respiratory illnesses and premature deaths. Learn more here: https://www.worldliquidgas.org/key-focus-areas/cooking