One billion Africans continue to rely on open fires or hazardous fuels to cook, posing serious health and environmental risks, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday.
The practice, also common among two billion people worldwide, emits as much greenhouse gas annually as the entire aviation industry, according to a new IEA report.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol described the situation as “one of the greatest injustices of our time,” with four out of five African households still using traditional fuels.
These fuels—wood, charcoal, agricultural waste and manure—release toxic fine particles that cause severe respiratory and heart problems, the report warned.
The IEA estimates 815,000 Africans die prematurely each year due to poor indoor air quality, with women and children bearing the brunt.
Daily chores of gathering fuel and tending fires rob families of time for education or work, deepening poverty and inequality. The report highlighted the devastating environmental cost, including widespread deforestation and the loss of crucial carbon sinks.
Yet, Birol stressed, the crisis “can be solved” with an annual investment of just $2 billion—a mere 0.1 percent of global energy spending. A 2023 summit in Paris secured $2.2 billion in pledges, and $470 million has already been mobilised for clean cooking projects in Africa.
Progress includes a new stove factory in Malawi and affordable cooking programmes in Uganda and Ivory Coast, the IEA noted. Clean solutions such as solar electricity, renewable gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) could rapidly transform millions of lives, Birol said.
If implemented swiftly, these measures could prevent 4.7 million deaths and cut Africa’s emissions by 540 million tons annually by 2040. The IEA roadmap aims to make clean cooking universal in Africa before 2040—if the world chooses to act.