Two-thirds of all Nigerians could benefit from clean cooking by 2030

About 66% of all Nigerian households could have access to clean cooking by 2030 should the country pursue an ambitious clean cooking plan as part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement. Considering a population estimate of 263 million in 2030, 174 million Nigerians could benefit from improved mode...n cooking energy such as LPG, electricity, improved cookstoves and other clean biomass energy forms. This is one of the key messages from four recently released studies by the International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development (ICEED).

Today, only one in ten families in Nigeria cooks with LPG or electricity. Cooking with firewood or charcoal lead to serious health problems such as acute lower respiratory infection in children. It causes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease and lung cancer. According to the studies, smoke from the kitchen in Nigeria lead to 78,000 premature deaths and about 55 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents are emitted from the same sources. These linkages create great opportunities to design mitigation measures that address both climate change and reduce the health hazards from cooking.

According to Ewah Eleri, the Executive Director of the ICEED, "the studies reveal that Nigeria has a unique opportunity to solve some of the insidious energy problems facing the poor, improve family health and raise Nigeria's ambition in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change".

In her research paper, Temilade Sesan analysed the political economy of clean cooking in Nigeria. According to her, "the state needs to mediate between investors expectations of energy markets and the economic realities of poor households". As a result of grinding poverty, even in the most ambitious scenario, Nigeria is unlikely to meet universal access to clean cooking by 2030. In her own paper on the business value chain, Maria Yetano Roche concluded that the "business ecosystem of clean cooking remain weak, and as a result, Nigeria is likely to fall short of its national clean cooking targets".

A key message of the research papers is that Nigeria needs clear, coherent and consistent policy and institutional leadership. According to one of the authors, Precious Onuvae, "Nigeria requires an institutional home and unified leadership for clean cooking". She points out that the responsibility for clean cooking is shared by a myriad of agencies of the federal government. Moreover, states and local governments do not have local level plans and agencies to address these issues. One of the authors, Adeola Ijeoma Eleri concluded that "attitudinal change in favour of cleaner energy forms is a public good that requires investment by government and donors".

While the authors identified barriers such as the deepening poverty, lack of influential actors' interests in delivering pro-poor rural clean energy reforms, weak business ecosystem and weak institutional frameworks, it also highlighted the opportunities that climate finance can bring in expanding access. This calls for strong international partnerships.

The four papers authored by four leading female researchers are a result of a unique partnership between ICEED and the Heinrich Boell Foundation (HBF). According to Jochen Luckscheiter, the Nigerian Country Director of the Foundation, 'Clean-cooking in Nigeria must become a political, economic, and environmental priority, supported by informed policies and backed by targeted investments. The research pulled together by ICEED provides the necessary knowledge and evidence base to guide this process.'

For more information, please contact: Precious Onuvae at precious@iceednigeria.org, Tel: 08063361065.
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