WLGA calls for LPG to be central to global energy agenda at IEA meeting

The World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) is participating in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy Access and Clean Cooking Ministerial Meetings taking place Feb. 18-19 in Paris, highlighting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as the fastest scalable pathway to universal clean cooking access across the developing world.

The Ministerial High-Level Dialogue on Advancing Energy Access and Clean Cooking Solutions, chaired by the Netherlands’ Deputy Prime Minister Sophie Hermans, serves as a milestone following the landmark 2024 Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, according to the WLGA. Since then:

• $470 million has been disbursed across 22 African countries to accelerate the deployment of clean cooking fuels, with $2.2 billion pledged.
• LPG has driven around 70 percent of global clean cooking gains since 2010. It is abundant, affordable and deployable today, the WLGA says.
• About 900 million Africans still lack access to clean cooking fuels, resulting in severe health impacts (particularly for women and children), widespread deforestation and substantial losses in economic productivity, the WLGA adds. Roughly four in five people in Africa and 90 percent of schools rely on firewood or charcoal for cooking.

WLGA CEO James Rockall is joining global energy leaders, including Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, and Chris Wright, U.S. secretary of energy, at the ministerial, which serves as a prelude to the second Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, set to take place July 9-10 in Nairobi, Kenya. Discussions will focus on identifying priority policy, financing, and delivery actions that could translate into government or private sector commitments.

“Over 25 countries and 23 organizations are attending these ministerial meetings at the IEA, underscoring the urgency of this foundational issue for Africa and the world,” Rockall says. “LPG has driven approximately 70 percent of global clean cooking gains since 2010, and if we are to get serious about universal access to clean cooking solutions by 2030, then we need to move faster. If we align policy, regulation and finance, we can move millions of households off traditions fuels within this decade – not in 2040. The industry stands ready to deliver. The question is whether policy will move at the same speed as the need.”

The IEA’s World Energy Outlook, released in November 2025, reveals that progress on clean cooking access has decelerated in recent years, the WLGA points out. While 100 million people gained access to clean cooking in 2023, this represents a decline from 120 million in 2019.

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