IEA: LPG crisis threatens Africa’s clean cooking progress

The International Energy Agency has warned that the LPG crisis triggered by the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz is threatening Africa’s progress in clean cooking, with sharply higher prices putting the fuel beyond the reach of many households and potentially worsening exposure to deadly household air pollution.

The warning comes amid the continued reliance of nearly two billion people worldwide on wood, charcoal and other polluting fuels for cooking, a practice linked to 2.5 million premature deaths annually from household air pollution, according to the IEA’s latest clean cooking report.

The agency said half of the nearly two billion people without access to clean cooking live in Africa, where progress in expanding access has accelerated but remains insufficient to keep pace with population growth.

“In Africa, physical supplies largely remained available, but sharply higher prices put LPG beyond the reach of many households, especially in markets without state-set fuel pricing like Nigeria and Uganda,” the IEA stated.

The development is significant for Nigeria, where LPG has become an increasingly important alternative to firewood, charcoal and kerosene for household cooking. A sustained rise in LPG prices could force some low-income households to return to more polluting cooking fuels.

The IEA said around 30 per cent of global seaborne LPG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the 3.4 billion people who rely on LPG as their primary cooking fuel to supply disruptions and price shocks.

It said many countries had limited domestic LPG reserves to cushion the impact of the crisis, with fewer than 35 countries in emerging and developing economies having enough operational and strategic storage to cover more than 30 days of domestic LPG demand.

The agency said the consequences of relying on traditional cooking methods extended beyond health, noting that households without clean cooking access spent an average of four hours daily collecting firewood and cooking over inefficient stoves.

It said women and children bore the greatest burden, with the lack of clean cooking access affecting productivity and education.

“Nearly two billion people still cook using wood, charcoal and other fuels that produce harmful smoke, with dire implications for health, development, and the environment,” the IEA noted.

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Despite the challenges, the IEA said Africa was recording faster progress in clean cooking access.

As of 2024, 23 per cent of sub-Saharan Africans had access to clean cooking, an increase of almost one percentage point from the previous year. Nearly 12 million people gained access to clean cooking solutions in 2024, compared with about four million in 2010.

However, population growth outpaced the progress, with the number of people without access to clean cooking increasing by around 14 million in 2024.

LPG remains the dominant clean cooking fuel in Africa, accounting for more than 70 per cent of people with access and representing the vast majority of new connections in 2024.

The IEA said the pace of clean cooking delivery in sub-Saharan Africa was now three times the rate recorded in 2010, while early data on stove and fuel imports indicated that 2025 could surpass the continent’s previous record for clean cooking progress.

But it warned that the LPG crisis posed a fresh risk to those gains.

“While the energy crisis presents a new risk for clean cooking progress in Africa, the outlook for clean cooking remains stronger than before,” the agency stated.

The IEA said stronger policy frameworks and a growing pipeline of infrastructure investments were expected to sustain clean cooking access gains above pre-crisis trends through 2030.

It added that LPG supply disruptions had been partly cushioned by market adjustments and increased North American inventories, moderating the expected medium-term impact on LPG supply and prices.

It said governments were increasingly responding by strengthening strategic reserves, emergency supply protocols and supply-chain reforms, while some countries were encouraging consumers to switch to alternative cooking fuels to reduce dependence on imported LPG.