Clean cooking week: How Govt is stimulating use of clean energy in more Kenyan kitchens
Sponsored by GIZ
Background
Kenya has set a target of “100 percent access to modern cooking solutions by 2028” in response to the national obligations to SDG-7 and the nationally determined contributions (NDC).
The country’s obligation under the NDC is to reduce the emission of Greenhouse gases by 32 percent by 2030, while that for SDG-7 is to enable universal access to clean energy by 2030.
The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, through the State Department for Energy, contributes to these goals by championing the use of clean cooking solutions and therefore promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.
About 9.1 million households in Kenya’s rural and urban areas still rely on traditional cooking solutions such as charcoal and firewood. At the moment, only about 31 percent of Kenyan households use clean cooking solutions.
The Government has its job cut out to address the remaining 69 percent in just four years, and has responded to this need through the development of various strategies. This has been made possible through technical assistance from the Energy Transition Council, UK PACT, GIZ, Green Climate Fund, AFD, EnDev, Modern Energy Cooking Services, Climate Compatible Growth, Loughborough University, and GAMOS.
The Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy (2024) is the overarching roadmap for the cooking sector, embracing multiple fuels that include LPG, ethanol, electric cooking, biogas and sustainable clean biomass.
The Electric Cooking Strategy (2024) is designed to bridge the policy gap between electricity access and its use for cooking. Despite the high access to electricity at 77 percent, less than one percent of households use it for cooking.
The Knowledge Management Strategy (2023) defines the data and information needs for monitoring and tracking progress in the cooking sector, for purposes of reporting headway on international, regional, national and sub-national obligations.
The Behaviour Change and Communication Strategy (2022) promotes awareness about the benefits of switching from traditional cooking methods to clean cooking alternatives. This strategy was launched in 2022 and is being implemented through “above-the-line” and “below-the-line” approaches to awareness creation. The rallying call is “Upishi Bora, Afya Bora”
Clean Cooking Week
Background
The Clean Cooking Week (CCW) is an annual event organised by the State Department for Energy (SDE) in collaboration with the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya. The CCW 2024 is the fifth edition of this collaboration since 2020.
The week serves as a forum for creating awareness on the role of clean cooking in improving the health, environment and livelihoods of Kenyan citizens. This is part of the mandate bestowed on the State Department for Energy.
The CCW also serves as a forum for showcasing the importance of using clean cooking solutions as part of the national development agenda. The event promotes transformative solutions, stimulates investment in clean cooking, and showcases innovations through exhibitions.
The SDE also recognises exemplary performance by county counterparts in clean cooking policy development and integration into their county energy plans, the integrated development plans, and budgetary allocation.
The SDE recognises partners that have supported the event, and entities that contribute to clean cooking in the country. The occasion provides a special opportunity to sensitise policymakers on the need for a supportive environment. It also helps to foster collaboration and synergies in clean cooking interventions.
The SDE hosted the first three CCW events in Nairobi, but since 2023, it has adopted a county-focused approach in the spirit of bringing the message closer to the people. This approach is in line with the Integrated National Energy Planning process, which requires counties to develop county energy plans, where clean cooking is given prominence.
So far, the SDE has collaborated with various partners, including the European Union, GIZ, United Nations Development Programme, Practical Action, Climate Compatible Growth, World Resources Institute, SNV and Strathmore University, among others, to support the development of 20 county energy plans. The aim is to strengthen the counties by enabling them to articulate energy access issues and mobilise resources to implement them.
Theme of Clean Cooking Week 2024 (October 22-25) at KCB Grounds in Kajiado town
The theme of the 2024 Clean Cooking Week is “Strategy to action: Partner, Invest and Implement (PII)”. The coining of this theme was informed by the need to make it public knowledge that development of the relevant strategies for the clean cooking sector was now complete, and therefore the focus had shifted to implementation phase.
The message from the CCW 224 is that the road map for achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2028 is now clear and partners need to come on board to support implementation.
The following three strategy documents were launched during CCW 2024:
- Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy (2024);
- Kenya National Electric Cooking Strategy (2024);
- Knowledge Management Strategy (2023).
The launch signifies the readiness of the SDE to engage with different stakeholders, including development partners, private sector, government ministries, civil society and academia, in implementing the strategies.
The SDE encourages stakeholders who have interest in supporting the growth of the cooking sector to interact with the documents and determine where to invest and form partnerships.
Achieving the national goal of “100 percent access to clean cooking solutions by 2028” depends on the amount of resources injected as well as the proper coordination of various activities in the sector.
The five-point action agenda for the Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy is as follows:
- Bridge the supply gap for clean cooking solutions;
- Bridge the affordability gap for the demand side;
- Promote local manufacturing and fuel production for local use and export;
- Reframe and raise awareness on the role of clean cooking;
- Institute accountability, planning, and continuous tracking of progress.
The SDE has a task to translate what is on paper into action and benefits for Kenyan people, and looks forward to operationalising the Clean Cooking Implementation Unit to drive the process.
The message
The strategies are designed to transform the cooking sector beyond increasing stove sales. The aim is to ensure sustainability and profitability.
The SDE is reframing cooking from being a gendered household issue to one of national importance in various aspects. For example, the strategies will contribute to reducing the number of household air pollution-related deaths annually in Kenya (now estimated at 23,000), preserving the environment through reduced emissions in line with the Kenya NDC target, and slowing environmental degradation. Other benefits beyond these include reducing the outflow of foreign exchange through reduced fossil fuel imports, creation of jobs, introduction of opportunities for carbon projects, generation of revenue for the electric utility, and increased revenue for the Government.
The SDE is ready to engage with stakeholders in implementing the strategies and translate them into outputs and outcomes that benefit Kenyan citizens. Progress will be measured by the number of households that have access to a clean cooking solution as part of their stack.
Development partners and private sector players are encouraged to invest. Throughout the period 2024 to 2028, the SDE is seeking to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones. The SDE also wishes to secure buy-in from political and business leaders, end users and actors in clean cooking value chains, among other audiences.
