Scaling Clean Cooking Means Backing Every Viable Solution
Recently,听energy ministers from around the world gathered听in Paris听at the headquarters of听the International Energy听Agency听to discuss the world鈥檚 most pressing energy issues鈥攁nd clean cooking was firmly on the agenda.听
This moment has been decades in the making.听
For years, governments,听companies, and organizations like the听Clean Cooking Alliance听have been doing the steady, often听invisible听work of positioning clean cooking where it belongs: at the intersection of energy security, climate action, public health, and economic development. That progress has been built through evidence, policy engagement, market building, and persistent advocacy.听
So,听seeing clean cooking discussed听at the听听alongside power systems,听critical minerals, AI,听and听investment pathways doesn’t feel like a sudden elevation. It feels like the global energy community听is听finally acknowledging that for听the听2.1 billion people听who have no choice but to听cook daily with听wood and charcoal,听the听energy听transition is not听only听about decarbonizing existing systems,听it is about gaining access to听affordable,听modern energy for the first time.听
Photo: Sistema.bio
And yet, as attention grows, so does a familiar temptation: the search for a single, breakthrough solution. The fuel that will scale fastest.听The technology听that will leapfrog the rest. The narrative that promises speed and simplicity.听
History tells us that energy transitions rarely work that way. Clean cooking certainly听doesn’t.听
The access听and affordability听gap is not uniform. It stretches across dense cities and remote rural communities, across fragile states and fast-growing economies, across households听and schools听connected to electricity grids and those far beyond them. Infrastructure readiness varies. Affordability varies. Cultural cooking practices vary. A strategy built around one dominant听energy听pathway risks repeating a pattern we have seen before: overpromising viability in some contexts while underinvesting in others.听
The truth is more grounded,听and ultimately, more听workable.听
Photo: ATEC Global
Different solutions succeed in听different places.听High-performing biomass stoves deliver immediate health improvements and reduce demand for firewood and charcoal where the transition to higher-tier solutions must happen in stages.听听Biogas builds resilience in agricultural communities. Bioethanol can scale where supply chains and feedstocks align.听LPG has driven rapid adoption and measurable health gains in some markets. Electric cooking is becoming听viable听as grids strengthen and appliance costs fall.听
No single pathway will reach听all听2.1 billion people.听Collectively, they can听succeed.听
Energy transitions are听not听linear. Households听and institutions听move gradually, often听stacking fuels听before settling into more stable modern energy systems. Infrastructure builds over time. Costs come down. Policy frameworks mature. What matters is sustained movement away from polluting听fuels and practices, and ensuring that the solutions replacing them are durable, affordable, and trusted.听
This is why the clean cooking community must be more explicit about what we stand for: an all-fuels, all-technologies approach, grounded in evidence, responsive to country context, and centered on consumer choice.听
Not because听inclusivity听sounds diplomatic, but because听real delivery demands it.听
Financing must reflect this reality. Concessional capital, private investment, and听results-based financing听all have essential roles to play.听But capital should not narrow prematurely around a single听fuel or听technology narrative.听Diversified portfolios reduce risk and increase the probability that funded solutions match real-world conditions, where a mother in rural Malawi, a street vendor in Dhaka, and a school kitchen in Kigali each face fundamentally different constraints.听
Governments face parallel trade-offs. Energy security, fiscal pressure, industrial policy, and climate commitments intersect in complex and sometimes competing ways. Predictable policy environments that enable multiple solutions to grow, produce more resilient, more inclusive markets.听
As we look ahead to the second听听this July, the question before us is not,听which fuel wins?听
The question is whether we are serious about closing the听clean cooking听access gap.听
That means turning political commitment into deployed capital. Turning capital into project pipelines, and turning听those听pipelines into听real听infrastructure, distribution networks, consumer finance, and sustained adoption. It means moving from ambition to accountability.听
It also means resisting the urge to reduce a听systems challenge听to a technology debate.听
Yes, clean听cooking is about energy security, health, climate, gender equity, forests, livelihoods, and economic productivity. But at its core, it is about whether a family, a school, or a vendor can cook a meal safely and affordably, today and every day.听
There is no silver bullet for that. There is only the hard, necessary, and deeply consequential work of building markets that function across fuels, across technologies, and across contexts, guided by evidence, responsive to country realities, and disciplined about supporting every听viable听solution.听
If we stay focused on that work, the听Summit听in July will be defined by how听effectively we are drawing on all the tools and solutions available to us to close the access gap quickly, and how many lives are changing because we chose delivery over debate.
