By Francis Kajubi , The Guardian
THE government has pledged to fully observe the shift to clean cooking energy sources aligned to international agreements as it sets mutual means of implementing the National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024/34.
Judith Kapinga, Deputy Minister in the Energy Ministry declared the government’s stance when opening a three-day National Clean Cooking Symposium 2024 taking place in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
She said the government is committed to using the $10billion funded programme to scaling-up the uptake of clean cooking energy in the next ten years.
She was addressing the symposium which brings together manufacturers, importers and suppliers of different cooking energy appliances to discuss common ways of going by the strategy through its implementation plan.
Kapinga linked the government’s commitment to the Paris Summit co-chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan earlier last month that adopted the declaration which emphasizes increased financing, policies and partnership, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 7, on universal clean cooking.
She said the strategy further targets at raising awareness, and fostering greater collaboration among the key stakeholders.
“While working to achieve the SDG goals, the government is working on ensuring affordable access in a timely manner to cleaner and modern cooking solutions, which can deliver benefits in terms of health, productivity, gender equality, forest preservation, biodiversity, and emissions reductions,” she said.
Kapinga asserted that clean cooking sources have numerous significant benefits on people's health, on the environment, on climate change and especially on gender.
The ten-year strategy, she said, accommodates new technologies that facilitate its implementation. Changing the current narrative on energy sources is vital towards making the 80 percent of Tanzanians shift to clean cooking energy sources.
“It takes into account the availability, accessibility, affordability and efficiency of alternative clean cooking energy sources from the ordinary charcoal, firewood and other fuels,” said Kapinga.
Bryan Schreiner, UN Resident Coordinator to Tanzania said that clean cooking solutions are essential in achieving sustainable development goal (SDG7) which focuses on affordable clean cooking energy.
He said that the strategy will promote easier and fast realization of the SDG3 which emphases good health for all and SDG13 which obligates countries to observe dedicated actions towards mitigating climate change.
Schreiner said clean cooking is not a rocket science since the solutions are rather simple and the technology is relatively straightforward and not overly expensive.
“Clean cooking is not just a matter of convenience but the matter of life and dignity for millions of people around the world,” he said.
Peter Malika, Head UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Tanzania was of the view that lean cooking is a business opportunity which also creates employment opportunities.
He said UNCDF is implementing a sustainable clean cooking solution initiative dubbed CookFund, the EU 80bn/- funded program that targets to reduce deforestation by increasing the production of sustainable fuel wood, in raw and areas.
He said another component of this program is to accelerate market rollout of clean cooking through CookFund working with the UNCDF.
“To date, the CookFund has supported more than 60 companies in the clean cooking value chain with 7.3bn/- to promote improve stoves or modern cooking fuels;
Supporting these companies helps establish a viable vibrant economy. And competitive markets and increases the availability and affordability of clean cooking technologies,” he said.
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