By:
Nana Appiah Acquaye
Kenya
has stepped up preparations for the second Africa Clean Cooking Summit
following high-level discussions with the International Energy Agency (IEA) on
the sidelines of the COP31–IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue in Paris,
France.
Kenya’s
Special Envoy for Climate Change, Ambassador Ali Mohamed, together with
Ambassador Betty Cherwon, Kenya’s Ambassador to France, met with IEA Executive
Director Dr. Fatih Birol to review progress and strengthen collaboration ahead
of the summit.
The
Africa Clean Cooking Summit, which will be co-chaired by the governments of
Kenya, Norway, and the United States alongside the IEA, is being organised in
partnership with the African Union and the African Development Bank. The event
is expected to bring together Heads of State, ministers, development partners,
investors, and private sector leaders to accelerate efforts toward universal
access to clean cooking solutions across Africa.
Discussions
during the meeting focused on ensuring the summit delivers concrete outcomes
across three priority areas: financing, policy, and technology. Participants
explored ways to mobilise large-scale investment, including securing new
funding commitments and accelerating the deployment of existing resources to
support clean cooking transitions.
The
talks also emphasised the need to strengthen national policy frameworks and
improve coordination across government institutions to attract investment and
enable effective implementation of clean cooking initiatives.
In
addition, stakeholders highlighted the importance of expanding access to clean,
affordable, and scalable technologies while addressing supply challenges for
clean cooking fuels amid global disruptions.
Ambassador
Ali Mohamed reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to co-hosting a successful summit and
working with international partners to translate these priorities into
measurable progress for households and institutions across the continent.
Kenya
continues to position clean cooking as a key component of Africa’s energy
transition, with a focus on delivering benefits in climate action, public
health, gender equality, and green industrial development.
