At the Clean Cooking Summit, organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA), TotalEnergies announced its ambition of giving 100 million people in Africa and India access to clean cooking by 2030.
TotalEnergies will, therefore, invest more than US$400 million (N$7.4 billion) in the development of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking.
In addition, to make clean cooking affordable for as many people as possible, the company will develop the use of digital pay-as-you-cook technologies that allow customers to pay only as they use the LPG cylinder, rather than having to pay the full value of the cylinder volume upfront.
According to the IEA, more than 2.3 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean cooking solutions, and they still cook their meals on traditional stoves, using wood and charcoal. The IEA has stated that cleaner cooking fuels, such as LPG, help improve overall health – thanks to better air quality, limiting the risk of respiratory complications and cardiovascular disease.
Household air pollution is the second-leading cause of premature death among women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Clean cooking also reduces gender inequality by facilitating access to education, employment, entrepreneurship and, ultimately, financial independence for women.
Clean cooking solutions represent a significant time-saver for people, who would otherwise spend as much as 20 hours per week collecting wood for cooking purposes.
In addition, clean cooking reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and deforestation, whereas universal access to clean cooking solutions would result in emission savings of up to 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2030 (900 million tonnes in Africa), equivalent to the CO2 emissions produced by the air and maritime industries in 2022, or the deforestation of forests the size of Ireland each year.
“We praise this initiative by the IEA, which TotalEnergies embraces to promote access to reliable, affordable and sustainable cooking solutions
for as many people as possible, in line with the company’s purpose,” said Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.
“By developing access to clean cooking in Africa and India, TotalEnergies aims to have a positive impact on the environment and people’s health, while also helping to reduce gender inequalities in these regions. Clean cooking contributes to long-term social, economic and human development in a more sustainable way.”