A growing momentum of support for LPG's use as a cooking fuel could further gather pace before an IEA summit in Paris on 14 May
A pair of leading energy policy experts recently released an opinion piece attempting to provide a rationale for supporting LPG cooking schemes in developing economies, despite LPG being a carbon-emitting fossil fuel. It further demonstrates a growing realisation outside the industry of the importance LPG has in the non-developed world's energy transition.
The article, LPG: A useful ‘transitional' fuel for the UN's clean cooking effort, is co-authored by Philippe Benoit and Kaushik Deb — two senior research scholars from New York-based Columbia University's Centre on Global Energy Policy. It was published through the Inter Press Service (IPS), a non-profit journalistic co-operative that provides "news and views from the global south".
Why does this matter? It is yet more evidence of the growing momentum behind LPG as a vital component in tackling energy poverty and preventing millions of deaths attributed to indoor air pollution from biomass burning for cooking — in areas most at risk from emissions-induced climate change, the authors point out. The article does not provide any remarkable insight in and of itself, at least to those versed in the issue. But it does show courage from the authors, and indirectly the IPS, in publicly advocating for a fossil fuel sector, inviting criticism from the environmental groups and NGOs they align or even work with.
The authors suggest the best way to foster support for LPG cooking schemes in developing economies is by first looking at it through the lens of "emissions reduction prioritisation", and the need to place the transition from solid biomass to cleaner cooking fuels in the broader emissions and inequality context. Citing a recent Oxfam report, they point out that the poorest 50pc of the world's population are responsible for only 8pc of greenhouse gas emissions, while the wealthiest 10pc are responsible for 50pc.
"Given the lives of poor women and children that can be saved today by LPG cooking, coupled with the minute per capita emissions of these consumers, LPG-based efforts should continue and potentially even be expanded under a ‘transitional' regime," they say. The short-term focus should be on shifting the richest 10pc away from fossil fuels. The transitional regime would include a "sunset provision" with a clear second step to renewables-based electric and other "non-emitting" fuels, they say. "The primary objective is to save lives that would otherwise be lost to cooking-related pollution in the short-to-medium term."
Blinkered opposition
Governments and NGOs need to be bolder in backing clean cooking schemes that have a relatively negligible net cost to the environment, bearing in mind the US, Europe and northeast Asia continue to burn natural gas with abandon for cooking. It is morally dubious for those in the developed world to angrily oppose plans to transition those less fortunate suffering the consequences of burning solid biomass fuels because it clashes with their principles or ideologies. Such blinkered opposition only serves to slow the advance to a net zero world.
The article appears during the run-up to the IEA's Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa — a potentially landmark gathering that will take place in Paris on 14 May. "The IEA is convening global leaders to make 2024 a turning point for progress on ensuring clean cooking access for all. Solving this issue requires a historic commitment, which would be among the most consequential investments in Africa's and the world's future." Little else is known about the summit at present other than it will be chaired by Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan, Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Store and IEA executive director Fatih Birol. But it could provide a pivotal moment if it can persuade new powerful advocates and leverage international funding for LPG cooking schemes.
