The International Energy Agency has warned that the LPG crisis triggered by the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz is threatening Africa’s progress in clean cooking, with sharply higher prices putting the fuel beyond the reach of many households and potentially worsening exposure to deadly household air pollution.

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The warning comes amid the continued reliance of nearly two billion people worldwide on wood, charcoal and other polluting fuels for cooking, a practice linked to 2.5 million premature deaths annually from household air pollution, according to the IEA’s latest clean cooking report.

The agency said half of the nearly two billion people without access to clean cooking live in Africa, where progress in expanding access has accelerated but remains insufficient to keep pace with population growth.

“In Africa, physical supplies largely remained available, but sharply higher prices put LPG beyond the reach of many households, especially in markets without state-set fuel pricing like Nigeria and Uganda,” the IEA stated.

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The development is significant for Nigeria, where LPG has become an increasingly important alternative to firewood, charcoal and kerosene for household cooking. A sustained rise in LPG prices could force some low-income households to return to more polluting cooking fuels.

The IEA said around 30 per cent of global seaborne LPG trade passes through the Strait of Hormuz, exposing the 3.4 billion people who rely on LPG as their primary cooking fuel to supply disruptions and price shocks.

It said many countries had limited domestic LPG reserves to cushion the impact of the crisis, with fewer than 35 countries in emerging and developing economies having enough operational and strategic storage to cover more than 30 days of domestic LPG demand.

The agency said the consequences of relying on traditional cooking methods extended beyond health, noting that households without clean cooking access spent an average of four hours daily collecting firewood and cooking over inefficient stoves.

It said women and children bore the greatest burden, with the lack of clean cooking access affecting productivity and education.

“Nearly two billion people still cook using wood, charcoal and other fuels that produce harmful smoke, with dire implications for health, development, and the environment,” the IEA noted.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria