The Rockefeller Foundation, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Clean Cooking Alliance, and Energy Corps have launched the Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative at the IEA 2026 Ministerial to expand access to modern cooking technologies in Africa, where around one billion people still rely on traditional fuels like wood and charcoal. The initiative aims to improve health, save lives, empower women and children, create jobs, reduce forest degradation, and build economic opportunities by promoting cleaner cooking solutions, including electric, biogas, LPG, bioethanol, and efficient biomass stoves.
Traditional cooking fuels contribute to household air pollution, causing respiratory illnesses and over 810,000 premature deaths annually in Africa. Despite progress in clean cooking access worldwide, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to face a widening gap, with population growth outpacing gains. The Clean Cooking Accelerator Initiative will initially operate in selected countries with plans to expand, focusing on strengthening supply chains, investing in infrastructure, and delivering technical expertise and catalytic capital to scale solutions effectively.
A key component of the initiative is the Clean Cooking Fellows program, which trains professionals to enhance institutional capacity, develop investable projects, and support country-level delivery. The initiative also coordinates with Mission 300 National Energy Compacts to mobilize private investment and build enabling infrastructure, ensuring sustainable access for vulnerable communities. Progress will be measured through market readiness, investment pipelines, and implementation of bankable projects.
By aligning resources, fostering partnerships, and providing technical assistance, the initiative seeks to accelerate clean cooking adoption and strengthen energy systems in Africa. It emphasizes capacity building, inclusive delivery, and measurable outcomes to ensure that modern cooking technologies reach households, schools, and institutions, contributing to improved health, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability across the continent.
