FG to provide 28.8m cooking gas to households by 2030
The Federal government has pledged to provide access to cooking gas for 28.8 million households and improved biomass cook-stoves for 7.3million by 2030.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, made this known during the National Clean Cooking Fair in Abuja, said that collective commitment to advance clean cooking solutions for greener, healthier, and more prosperous Nigeria.
The Fair was supported by the European Union.
Dr. Salako emphasized that traditional open fire cooking is a silent killer, causing over 77,000 deaths in Nigeria annually through lung and heart diseases. Open fire cooking also causes vision impairment, low birth weight and puts people at a higher risk of suffering burnt injuries.
“The gathering of firewood exposes women and girls to gender based violence, snake bites and other physical injuries.
He explained that cooking with firewood in an open fire is a major driver of deforestation in Nigeria and contributes to the loss of nearly 400,000 hectares of forests annually. While emissions from residential cooking represent about 55 million metric tonnes of CO2e and about 700,000 metric tonnes of harmful fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions and this constitutes a significant proportion of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr. Salako added that clean cooking is therefore not merely a matter of convenience; it is a matter of public health, a fundamental human right which is an essential component of sustainable development. By transitioning to cleaner and more efficient cooking technologies, we can improve air quality, protect public health, and mitigate the impacts of climate change in our communities.
He said, “This intervention when delivered is expected to save over 30,000 lives per annum, build a domestic clean cooking industry and create new jobs, reduce deforestation, assist the government in meeting its climate change commitments like the pledge to reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP) and improve the lives of women and girls in general. To achieve these clean cooking targets, a strong regulatory framework is needed.
Dr. Salako noted that The National Clean Cooking Policy when fully implemented will improve public health by reducing health risks associated with traditional cooking practices, enable environmental sustainability through the use of clean cooking technologies and solutions by reducing deforestation, GHG emissions, and enhance energy access and affordability whilst encouraging gender equality and empowerment for economic development.
“The policy is expected to drive investments into the sector thus supporting the job creation agenda of the federal government.
