How global commitments, financing, and innovation at COP30 are shaping the future of clean cooking across Africa
When COP30 concluded in Belém, Brazil this week, global headlines focused on forest protection, fossil-fuel debates, and adaptation finance.
Yet for millions of African households where a pot of beans still simmers over smoky charcoal, the conference quietly delivered something more urgent and tangible: a clearer path toward universal clean cooking.
Clean cooking was no longer a peripheral issue. For the first time, Africa left COP30 with concrete political commitments, financing mechanisms, and technical support that could transform kitchens, schools, and communities across the continent.
Schools at the Heart of the Revolution
The most symbolic moment came on 16 November 2025, when Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the World Food Programme (WFP), and global partners launched the Platform for Clean Cooking in Schools. The rationale was simple yet profound: if schools cook cleanly, communities follow.
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of SEforALL, captured the ambition: “Clean cooking is a cornerstone of a just energy transition. Schools are the heart of communities… if we can make every school a clean-cooking school, we can accelerate change everywhere.”
Stanlake J.T.M. Samkange of WFP added: “Every child deserves a meal that nourishes them but does not poison the air they breathe.”
COP30 Champion Dan Ioshpe emphasized the generational impact: “By transforming school kitchens, we uplift health, protect forests, and empower the next generation.”
For SEforALL and WFP, this platform is more than a program. It is a framework for national-scale clean cooking deployment.
Africa’s Voice Was Loud and Clear
African negotiators ensured the continent’s realities were front and center. Dr. Richard Muyungi, Chair of the African Group of Negotiators(AGN), reminded the world of the scale of the crisis:
“Close to a billion people still cook in primitive, dangerous conditions. Women and children spend hours collecting firewood. Survival becomes a full-time job. How can there be justice without clean cooking?”
Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance, underscored the ethical dimension:
“There is no universality or justice without access to clean cooking.”
Clean cooking in Africa is thus framed not only as an environmental issue but as a human-rights, gender, and health imperative.
National Ambitions Aligned with Global Momentum
Tanzania is leading by example. At the launch of Tanzania’s national clean cooking drive in July 2025, Prof. Peter Lawrence Msoffe, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Vice President’s Office (Environment), said: “Our government has set a target of 80% clean cooking access by 2034. Clean cooking in schools is central to this transition.”
Tanzania’s pilot program, supported by SEforALL and WFP, starts with 50 schools, scaling to over 5,000 grid-connected schools. The model school, Kibasila Primary School in Dar es Salaam, now operates “eCooking” kitchens with electric pressure cookers – demonstrating that safe, modern cooking is feasible and scalable.
COP30 Set Clear Indicators for Africa’s Clean-Cooking Future.
Beyond statements, COP30 delivered four key mechanisms that provide measurable pathways for Africa:
AfDB & SEFA Financing: The African Development Bank (AfDB) and its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) announced €50 million in new commitments targeting clean-cooking and just-energy-transition projects. SEFA’s blended finance model (grants + concessional loans) encourages private investment and small enterprises to scale.
Additionally, AfDB reaffirmed its commitment to allocate 20% of its energy portfolio to clean cooking, translating to about $2.2 billion in public and private funding.
IEA Pledges and Monitoring: The International Energy Agency (IEA) continues to track $2.2 billion pledged globally for clean cooking in Africa, with the goal of scaling to $4 billion per year by 2030. This mechanism adds accountability and helps ensure funding translates into real impact.
Mission 300 Compact: Under Mission 300, twelve African countries pledged to accelerate clean cooking alongside electrification and energy-access targets. COP30 aligned SEFA, SEforALL, and bilateral donors to support this commitment, embedding clean cooking firmly within national political agendas.
Modern Cooking Facility for Africa (MCFA): The MCFA uses a results-based financing model: enterprises receive payments for verified clean-cooking outcomes. COP30 strengthened donor intentions to expand MCFA coverage, offering a proven path to scale local innovations in stoves and fuels.
Innovation and Local Solutions
COP30 also highlighted UNIDO’s Ethanol Micro-Distilleries Guidebook, showing how agricultural residues can generate clean cooking fuel at community level. Many distilleries are women-led, linking gender empowerment, local entrepreneurship, and low-carbon development.
What This Means for African Kitchens
COP30 provided Africa with political legitimacy – African voices demanding clean cooking as a justice issue are now central to global discourse; concrete financing pathways – AfDB/SEFA, MCFA, IEA, and Mission 300 provide both capital and mechanisms to implement projects; and scalable models – school-based kitchens and ethanol micro-distilleries demonstrate practical, replicable approaches.
For families, this could mean safer kitchens, healthier children, and saved time. For women and girls, it represents freedom from the exhausting labor of firewood collection. For communities, it is a step toward sustainable, climate-resilient energy use.
Francisca Bakagorwaki, a 58-year-old woman from Rwanda village in Kagera region, has spent her entire life cooking with firewood and charcoal. Hearing about the COP30 clean-cooking initiative, she said, “I don’t expect this to happen overnight, but I have seen so much change in my lifetime that I believe it is possible.”
The Path Ahead
COP30’s impact on Africa’s clean cooking agenda is profound but still requires follow-through. Governments, donors, and civil society must ensure funding reaches projects, schools, and households. Indicators set through SEforALL, AfDB, and Mission 300 need measurable implementation metrics, so commitments are translated into real-world change, not just pledges.
If these initiatives are fully implemented, COP30 could be remembered as the summit where Africa’s kitchens were finally placed at the center of climate action, blending justice, innovation, and financing into a clear pathway for cleaner, healthier lives.
