The Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP) and the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARDA) have earmarked $1.5 billion for supporting clean cooking initiatives in Africa to support current drives by governments and other stakeholders to reduce gaseous emissions in the continent.
The fund aims to accelerate the adoption of LPG as a primary cooking fuel, addressing the urgent need to reduce the reliance on biomass, which remains prevalent across Africa.
Specifically, it will provide financing for infrastructure development, distribution networks and consumer education programmes, facilitating broader access to LPG and promoting sustainable cooking practices.
The GLPGP-ARDA fund is seen by industry experts as a desirable initiative, particularly when approximately 900 million people in Africa still lack access to clean cooking technologies.
The financing support is coming ahead of the African Energy Week (AEW) event ‘Invest in African Energy 2024’ scheduled for November 4-8 in Cape Town, South Africa.
During the event, experts will during one of the sessions titled ‘Towards the Elimination of Energy Poverty: LPG Value Chains for the African Clean Cooking Crusade’ are expected to brainstorm one how investments in LPG and distribution can catalyze energy security in Africa.
The session will also provide an overview of innovative financing tools applicable to LPG markets, with insights from industry experts including Peter George, Spark+ Africa Fund’s Partner and Investment Director; Gadibolae Dihlabi, Managing Director, LPG Association of South Africa (LPGSA); and Pam Indurjeeth, Managing Director, Oryx Energies; among others.
It would be recalled that the International Energy Agency (IEA) declared 2024 as the year for achieving universal access to clean cooking and mobilized $2.2 billion in public and private sector funding during the just concluded Paris Summit.
The fund will support the adoption of clean cooking solutions such as LPG and accounts for half of the continent’s financial needs to achieve universal access.
In addition to energy access, progress is being made to boost capacity building across the LPG industry.
For instance, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia recently partnered to enhance LPG accessibility through the National Human Capacity Training Programme for the Adoption of LPG.
