81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81): African Development Bank Group calls for clean cooking to become a central pillar of Africa’s energy transition

The African Development Bank Group ( www.AfDB.org ) has called for clean cooking to be treated as a development imperative and a collective responsibility, urging governments and partners to place it at the heart of Africa’s energy transition. The call came during the High-Level Heads of State Event on Clean Cooking in Africa, held Tuesday 22nd September during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. Convened by Kenya and Norway, in collaboration with the International Energy Agency, the Clean Cooking Alliance and UN Energy, it was the first time that clean cooking has taken the center stage in the UN General Assembly’s history. The event brought together heads of state, ministers, multilateral development banks, United Nations agencies and other partners, to raise political ambition and accelerate progress toward universal access to clean cooking across Africa. Nearly one billion Africans still lack access to clean cooking, forcing many households to rely on wood, charcoal and other traditional biomass fuels that contribute to indoor air pollution, deforestation and lost productivity. Women and children are disproportionately affected, bearing the greatest health ris