•As govt approves national clean cooking policy
The Federal Government has set aside two per cent of the ecological fund yearly and 10 per cent of green bonds for clean cooking financing in the

country.

The percentage will be domiciled in the Ecological Fund Office and releases will be made to the Clean Cooking Committee for implementation of actions based on the clean cooking budgets of the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the sub-committees.

Under the green bond, the government will through relevant MDAs develop specific clean cooking projects to be financed by the bond, while projects that have the potential for maximum positive impact will be prioritised.

Since its inception in 2017, the bond has been issued twice, and over N25 billion was realised and used to finance green projects. Government has consistently featured clean cooking in yearly national budgets. The new policy will also leverage the existing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N500 billion funds to finance renewable energy initiatives.
 The provisions are contained in the 29-page document ‘National Clean Cooking Policy’ approved by the Federal Executive Council recently. Through the policy, the MDAs will make budgetary promotion of clean cooking actions and each MDA will commit not less than N50 million yearly for clean cooking activities.

Nearly 30 million households depend on wood as a source of fuel for cooking using traditional three-stone and metal tripod stoves. Smoke from open fires results in over 77,000 fatalities in Nigeria yearly.

Moreover, the traditional cooking method is expensive, burning up to 90 per cent more wood than is necessary and costing poor families money that could be put to better use on education, health, and nutrition.

The use of firewood also contributes to deforestation and climate change, achieving universal access to clean cooking fuels and technologies by 2030, and net zero emissions from cooking by 2060 requires a seismic shift in policy.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has pledged its support towards the domestication of the policy by implementing key recommendations.
Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, who spoke at the launch of the policy, said: “We will embark on extensive awareness to communicate the co-benefits that cleaner cooking solutions bring, provide technical and business training, as well as building capacity of local producers and distributors.”

He also announced plans for fiscal and monetary incentives to encourage local manufacturers of various clean cooking fuels and technologies in the country.
The Minister of State for Environment, Dr Iziaq Salako, reassured everyone that the ministry will carry out regional and state launching and distribution of the policy document as a way of raising awareness.

According to him, “the policy will only be effective when states and local governments domesticate the policy and ensure effective implementation. On the part of the Federal Ministry of Environment, we will ensure that adequate budgetary provisions are made for the rollout of the policy.”

The Director General, National Council on Climate Change, Dr Salisu Dahiru, assured that implementing of the policy will go a long way in meeting the national climate change goals. “To support this, development partners have already set aside significant financial resources for the implementation of the national clean cooking goal” Dahiru added.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, Ewah Eleri, commended the Federal Executive Council for approving the national policy. According to him, “the approval of the policy is a call to a partnership between all levels of government, the private sector, civil society organisations and international development agencies to end cooking energy poverty, reduce the burden on women and address climate change.”

He thanked all partners of the alliance, especially the Clean Cooking Alliance and the Heinrich Boell Foundation for their support in the development of the policy.

The launch of the National Clean Cooking Policy coincided with the 17th Meeting of the National Council on Environment. Other attendees include the Director General, NESREA; Director General NOSDRA, Director General, National Biosafety Agency, representatives of the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, and the 36 State Commissioners of Environment.