By Obas Esiedesa

ABUJA -Energy experts have disclosed that lack of clean cooking energy is costing Nigeria and most developing countries around the world about $2.4 trillion annually with four million deaths linked to the problem yearly.

The experts at the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA), Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP), CITAC Africa and other energy players who spoke at the the ARDA’s 2nd annual virtual LPG meeting at the weekend said they
were not satisfied with the level of LPG penetration in Africa.

They however acknowledged that countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania have significantly increased penetration.

CCA’s Simba Mudimbu noted that clean cooking remained the most under-invested health and environmental problem in the world.

He noted that while LPG consumption was increasing across Africa, the rate of adoption was low as over  60 per cent of urban Africans live in informal settlements, and many cannot afford the upfront cost of cooking gas.

Mudimbu who spoke on “The last mile-LPG distribution models advancing clean cooking access”, pointed out that weak distribution networks in rural areas also contributes to very low penetration in such communities”.

He stated that across the world over four billion people are without access, $2.4 trillion is  lost yearly due to lack of clean cooking as for million people die yearly from the same reasons while 120Mt of climate pollutants per year is recorded.

He added this development was increasing carbon emissions by 10 percent annually.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of ARDA, Anibor Kragha, stated that LPG was the fastest-growing petroleum product in Sub- Saharan Africa.

Kragha disclosed that the per capita LPG consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa was however the lowest in the world.

He stressed that African governments and stakeholders must find sustainable ways to address the challenges, noting that although Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 14.4 per cent of world’s population, it has less than one per cent of global LPG consumption.

Speaking on “Enabling Environment: Policy and Regulatory for bioLPG”, expert at the Centre for Environment and Sustainability at University College London, Dr. Meron Tesfamichael noted that clean cooking would lead countries like Nigeria and others across the world to achieve environmental protection, conservation of natural resources gender equality as well as economic opportunities.