Tanzania Emerges as a Leader In Africa’s Clean Cooking Energy Efforts

On 16^th October 2024, Tanzania’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Hon. Dr. Doto Biteko, announced that Tanzania is emerging as a leader in Africa’s clean cooking energy efforts.

Dr. Biteko made this statement during the African Energy Dialogue Forum, which was organized by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and held on 16th-17th October in Dar es Salaam.

The conference provided a platform for government institutions, development partners, and the private sector to exchange ideas on advancing sector reforms, promoting sustainable growth, and catalyzing investments in Tanzania’s energy sector.

He mentioned that Tanzania’s efforts towards achieving Africa’s goal of 300 million people using clean cooking energy by 2030 have led the AfDB and the World Bank (WB) to support Tanzania in various projects, including the Clean Cooking Energy Agenda.

Biteko highlighted that AfDB selected Tanzania to host the Africa Heads of State Summit in 2025 because of the noticeable progress and achievements Tanzania has made in the energy sector compared to other African countries.

“This meeting is also part of the preparations for the Africa Heads of State Summit expected to take place in 2025, following the invitation of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, who leads the clean cooking energy agenda in Africa,” emphasized Dr. Biteko.

On his part, the Vice President of the AfDB, Dr. Kelvin Kairuki, mentioned that the bank, in collaboration with the World Bank, will continue to work with Tanzania because the country is at the forefront of implementing the Clean Cooking Energy Agenda compared to other nations working with the banks.

Tanzania Clean Energy Strategies

Approximately 84.8% of rural households and 17.4% of urban households in Tanzania depend on firewood as their primary cooking fuel, which poses significant health and environmental risks.

To combat this, the Tanzanian government is implementing a 10-year National Strategy for Clean Cooking Energy (NSCCE 2024-2034), aiming for 80% public use of clean cooking solutions by 2034.

To start this initiative, they have begun distributing 400,000 subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking cylinders to promote cleaner alternatives.