850m Africans still use solid fuel for cooking — ARDA

African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) has warned of imminent danger as over 850 million Africans still depend on solid fuel (biomass) for cooking.

​Without strategic efforts towards energy transition, especially for cooking, ARDA and other experts, who spoke at a virtual workshop organised by ARDA on Thursday on the need for the adoption of clean cooking fuels, said solid fuels may continue to kill over 600,000 Africans yearly due to household air pollution.

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​Industry majors, including Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP), World LPG Association, Clean Cooking Alliance, Shell Foundation and Oryx Energies at the meeting insisted on the need for the development of a robust African LPG value chain.

​Speaking on the backdrop of the continent’s growing population, the stakeholders led by the Executive Secretary of ARDA, Anibor Kragha said the need for energy transition in the face of projected growing energy demands remain sacrosanct.

​Kragha highlighted LPG as a credible near-term solution for reducing carbon emissions against polluting solid fuels, stressing that health burdens loom in Africa if steps are not urgently taken to transition into cleaner fuels in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

​Kragha, at the workshop which is a part of ARDA’s seven-part virtual workshop series, said the continent must aim at fostering collaboration and sharing of best practices to mitigate projected challenges that could undermine energy transition on the continent.

​The Nigerian-born energy expert, said, “The deployment of the planned Africa LPG Sector Development Fund to finance National LPG ecosystems at country-level will ensure a robust, full value chain approach to drive sustainable investments and accelerate LPG adoption across the continent.”

​“An integrated Ecosystem Approach for deploying sustainable investments across the LPG value chain is essential in Africa’s drive towards world-class per capita consumption of LPG,” he stated at the close of the workshop.