In a move towards addressing one of the world's most pressing inequalities, the President of the World Bioenergy Association (WBA), Dr. Christian Rakos, was invited to the inaugural Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, held in Paris on May 14.
The Summit, co-chaired by the leaders of Tanzania, Norway, the African Development Bank, and the International Energy Agency, gathered close to 60 countries alongside companies and development institutions. This historic gathering focused on mobilizing resources to provide clean cooking access to over 1 billion people in Africa who currently lack it.
Dr. Rakos joined over 1,000 delegates, including heads of state and leaders from various sectors, emphasizing the need for a joint commitment to tackling the global challenge of access to clean cooking fuels.
During the Summit, a financial commitment of USD 2.2 billion was pledged from governments and the private sector, with the financing pledge of USD 200 million annually over the next decade. This marked a significant step forward in addressing the persistent lack of access to clean cooking, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it falls short on the USD 4 billion annual capital investment required to achieve universal access to clean cooking in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
Joining the Summit, Dr. Rakos’s participation underscores the critical role of bioenergy in providing sustainable and affordable solutions for clean cooking access with options such as pellet-fired, ethanol, or biogas cookstoves. By signing The Clean Cooking Declaration with more than 100 countries, international institutions, companies, and civil society organizations, the WBA reaffirmed its dedication to prioritizing and enhancing efforts towards achieving universal access to clean cooking for all.
Check the Clean Cooking Declaration here.
The World Bioenergy Association remains committed to advancing the global clean cooking agenda and looks forward to contributing to transformative progress in providing clean cooking access- through sustainable bioenergy alternatives- to millions of people worldwide.