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 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.
The Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy (2024) is the overarching approach for the cooking sector, embracing different 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 high access to electricity at 77 percent and low use of electricity for cooking at less than one percent of households.
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.
Clean Cooking Week
The Clean Cooking Week (CCW) is an annual event organised by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in collaboration with the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya. The CCW 2024 is the fifth edition of the 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. Through exhibitions, the event promotes transformative solutions, stimulates investment in clean cooking, and showcases innovations.
The Ministry 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.
State Department for Energy recognises partners that have supported the hosting of the event, as well as entities that contribute to clean cooking in the country. The occasion provides a special opportunity to sensitise policymakers on the need for support. It also helps to foster collaboration and synergises clean cooking interventions.
The State Department 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 guided by the Integrated National Energy Planning process, which requires counties to develop county energy plans, where clean cooking is given prominence.
So far, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has supported the development of 20 county energy plans. The aim is to strengthen the counties by enabling them to articulate their energy access issues and fundraise 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 will be launched during CCW 2024:
Kenya National Cooking Transition Strategy;Electric Cooking Strategy;Knowledge Management Strategy.
The launch signifies the readiness of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to engage with different stakeholders, including development partners, private sector, government ministries, civil society and academia, in implementing the strategies.
The Ministry encourages stakeholders with interest in the cooking sector to interact with the documents and determine where to invest and form partnership. The Behaviour Change and Communication Strategy was launched in 2022 and is being implemented.
Achieving the national clean cooking goal depends on the amount of resources injected as well as the coordination of various activities in the sector.
The Ministry has a task to translate what is down on paper to action and benefits, and looks forward to operationalising the Clean Cooking Implementation Unit to drive the process.
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 message
The strategies are designed to transform the cooking sector beyond increasing stove sales. The aim is to ensure sustainability and profitability.
The Ministry 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 cooking-related deaths annually in Kenya (now estimated at 23,000), preserving the environment through reduced emissions, 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 electric utility, and serving as a source of revenue for the Government.
The State Department for Energy is ready to engage with stakeholders in implementing the strategies and translating them into outputs and outcomes that benefit Kenyan citizens. Progress will be measured by the number of households that use at least one clean cooking solution.
Development partners and private sector players are encouraged to invest. Throughout the period 2024 to 2028, the State Department for Energy is seeking to strengthen existing partnerships and build new ones, and achieve buy-in from political and business leaders, end users and actors in clean cooking value chains, among other audiences.
Source link : https://nation.africa/kenya/brand-book/how-government-is-promoting-clean-cooking-in-kenyan-kitchens-4800142
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Publish date : 2024-10-23 17:34:20
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