In kitchens across the world, an invisible crisis continues to claim lives, degrade the environment, and stifle economic growth. Over 2.3 billion people — nearly one-third of the global population — still lack access to clean cooking solutions, relying on polluting fuels such as wood, charcoal, and kerosene. In at least 128 countries today, households and institutions still lack the resources and equipment necessary to consistently prepare meals using clean fuels. The consequences are devastating, from millions of deaths due to household air pollution to deforestation and climate change acceleration.
As governments in Africa push for sustainable development and climate action, clean cooking is emerging as a key priority that can bridge the gap between health, environmental protection, and economic empowerment. But with less than six years left to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) — universal access to clean energy — time is running out.
Under today’s policies, the number of people without access to clean cooking is set to decline from 2.3 billion today to 1.8 billion in 2030. Progress continues at a strong pace in Asia, but Africa could end the decade with the same number of people without clean cooking access as of today.
Traditional Cooking as a Public Health Crisis
The statistics on household air pollution are staggering. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), a lack of clean cooking contributes to 3.7 million premature deaths annually, with women and children most at risk. In Africa alone, women and children account for 60% of early deaths related to smoke inhalation and indoor air pollution. This includes over 237,000 children under five, primarily from pneumonia caused by inhaling toxic fumes.
“Cooking should not be a death sentence,” says Stephen Adwong’a, Miale Solar’s chief executive. “Yet millions of women and children continue to inhale lethal smoke every day, leading to chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, heart disease, and strokes.” Miale Solar, an emerging leader in clean cooking solutions, piloted a standalone clean cooking innovation at Kenswed Organization in Ngong, Kajiado, which operates vocational training centers, hospitals, and schools. The project demonstrated significant reductions in cooking time and fuel costs for large-scale cooking, providing a model for expansion beyond schools into hospitals – and even households.
The impact of traditional cooking on women and children is particularly severe. Women, who often bear the responsibility of cooking, inhale harmful smoke daily, while children suffer long-term developmental effects. Recent studies show that exposure to household air pollution increases the risk of stillbirths, low birth weight, and impaired cognitive development in children.
Exposure to indoor air pollution increased the risk of small for gestational age by 23.7% and low birth weight by 17.7%. Although the exact mechanisms by which smoking during pregnancy affects blood pressure are unknown, they may include inflammation and oxidative stress, which can compromise placental function and endothelial dysfunction.
The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concerns regarding environmental smoke and urban air pollution during a symposium earlier in 2005 at ISEE 2005 in Johannesburg. The results showed that several combustion pollutants, including carbon monoxide and tiny particles, are linked to poor pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth and low birth weight.
Two decades later, not much has changed. Despite growing evidence of the dangers, investment in clean cooking remains disproportionately low. Many governments and donors prioritize broader energy access initiatives while neglecting the pressing need for clean cooking solutions.
Despite this, Adwong’a laments that investment in clean cooking remains shockingly low, often sidelined in favor of broader energy access programs. Indeed, experts warn that failing to prioritize clean cooking solutions will result in continued loss of life and escalating healthcare costs.
The Environmental Burden of Traditional Cooking Methods
Beyond the severe health risks, traditional cooking methods are among the largest contributors to deforestation and climate change. The widespread use of wood and charcoal for cooking fuels the destruction of forests at an alarming rate, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where biomass is the primary energy source for millions of households.
With a 20% wood-to-charcoal conversion rate, conventional earth and pit kilns are typically used to produce a large portion of the charcoal in tropical nations. Less than 7% of tropical nations with the highest rates of deforestation are thought to be affected by the manufacturing of charcoal. With proper post-harvest management, a sizable amount of the land used for charcoal production offers the potential for quick forest rebound.
The majority of earth-based kilns produce charcoal in an oxygen-poor atmosphere, which leads to the generation of incomplete combustion products like methane. Therefore, the synthesis and release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are two ways that the manufacture of charcoal contributes to global warming.
According to the Clean Cooking Alliance, up to 30% of global wood harvested is globally is used for cooking, leading to destructive emissions equivalent to 2% of global emissions. In heavily deforested areas such as Haiti, Madagascar, and parts of East Africa such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, this dependence on wood fuels has led to catastrophic loss of tree cover, soil erosion, and declining agricultural productivity. The climate implications are equally alarming.
Accordingly, traditional cooking contributes as much as 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from carbon dioxide, methane, and black carbon (soot). Black carbon, in particular, is a powerful short-lived climate pollutant that has a warming effect up to 1,500 times stronger than carbon dioxide per unit of mass.
“The irony is that the very communities most affected by climate change—through droughts, floods, and unpredictable weather—are also contributing to it through outdated cooking methods,” explains Adwong’a. “Clean cooking is not just a health intervention; it is a climate necessity.”
The link between deforestation, climate change, and clean cooking is undeniable. Without urgent action, the vicious cycle of forest loss, increased emissions, and worsening food insecurity will continue to escalate.
The Economic Burden of Traditional Cooking Methods
The financial impact of the clean cooking crisis is immense. The World Bank estimates that the economic cost of traditional cooking exceeds $2.4 trillion annually, accounting for adverse effects on health ($1.4 trillion), women from lost productivity ($0.8 trillion), and climate ($0.2 trillion).
For households, the burden is direct and immediate. Families that rely on charcoal and firewood often spend up to 30% of their income on fuel. In contrast, clean cooking technologies such as electric stoves, biogas, and LPG systems significantly reduce household expenses over time.
Moreover, the time spent gathering firewood—a task disproportionately assigned to women and girls—takes away from education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities. In some rural areas, women spend up to five hours per day collecting firewood, exposing themselves to risks such as violence, snake bites, and exhaustion.
“This is not just about cooking; it is about economic empowerment,” says Rebekah Shirley, the Deputy Director for Africa at World Resources Institute (WRI) Africa. “The expansion of clean cooking solutions may have a strong influence on rural employment, especially for women and youth. As compared to off-grid solar, the cook stove sector may have higher rural reach, as the sector requires a local and less-skilled workforce — including masons, metal workers, sales agents and distributors.”
Investing in clean cooking technologies not only improves public health and environmental sustainability but also unlocks new economic opportunities, from job creation in the renewable energy sector to increased school attendance for children who would otherwise be collecting fuel.
The Role of Governments and Climate Finance
Despite the overwhelming benefits, clean cooking remains critically underfunded. Currently, only 1% of global energy investments go toward clean cooking solutions.
However, there is growing momentum for change. Several African and Asian governments have begun integrating clean cooking into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, recognizing it as a key strategy for climate mitigation.
The World Bank’s Clean Cooking Fund, launched in 2019, has mobilized over $500 million to accelerate access to modern cooking solutions in high-burden countries. Similarly, initiatives such as the Africa Clean Cooking Energy Solutions Initiative (ACCES) are working to drive policy reforms and expand financing for clean cooking enterprises.
“The solutions exist,” says Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA). “We’ll have helped build an ecosystem where businesses and other organizations meet the needs of the market and its different segments.”
According to the CCA, what is needed now is stronger political will, increased investment, and large-scale implementation.
“While it seems like a straightforward problem, solving the issue of clean cooking requires a whole-systems approach. That’s why CCA’s convening power is critical in bringing together global partners,” says van der Lans.
Major international donors, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), have begun channeling funds toward clean cooking as part of broader climate resilience programs.
Scaling Clean Cooking for a Sustainable Future
So, what needs to be done? According to Adwong’a, there’s a need for increase public and private investment.
“Governments and development banks must significantly scale up funding for clean cooking technologies, ensuring affordability and accessibility for low-income households,” he says.
Yet, this is not enough. Incentives for businesses investing in clean cooking infrastructure must be introduced. Adwong’a adds that clean cooking should be fully integrated into national energy policies, climate action plans, and SDG strategies. In which case, countries must set clear targets and accountability measures.
There is also a need for community engagement and innovation and research. According to Miale Solar’s chief executive, investment in new cooking technologies, improved stove efficiency, and alternative fuels is crucial to making clean cooking solutions more efficient, affordable, and adaptable to different regions.
Therefore…
The transition to clean cooking is not just about energy access, it is about health, climate justice, economic development, and gender equality. It is about ensuring that no mother has to risk her life just to cook a meal, no child has to suffer from toxic smoke, and no forest has to be destroyed for firewood.
Miale Solar is convinced that clean cooking must be treated as an urgent global priority — because millions of lives depend on it.