Improved cooking systems for sustainable and inclusive development

 In 2018 we launched our Clean Cooking Program, which promotes access to higher efficiency cooking systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Compared to traditional methods like the three-stone hearth, these improved stoves ensure reduced wood and charcoal use, significantly cutting the carbon footprint linked to cooking and enhancing the quality-of-life of the families involved. Indeed, using improved stoves offers health benefits, boosts productivity, promotes gender equality, safeguards forests and biodiversity, and cuts GHG emissions.

Clean Cooking is a cornerstone of our pledge to enhance living standards in sub-Saharan Africa. For this reason, we have signed the "Clean Cooking Declaration: Making 2024 the Key Year for Clean Cooking”, an initiative led by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which aims to speed up the global adoption of advanced cooking solutions. This is a vital step in guaranteeing access to affordable, dependable, sustainable and modern energy for everyone, in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7.

Eni aims to provide 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa with access to clean cooking systems by 2027. Additionally, we aim to facilitate the shift from improved stoves to advanced systems that can fully eliminate the reliance on unsustainable woody biomass. Following on, we aim to reach 20 million people by 2030.

Clean cooking initiatives not only improve energy access but also help reduce the use of charcoal and firewood, which are key causes of deforestation in many African nations. Additionally, producing and distributing these enhanced stoves locally, in partnership with national and international bodies active in the area, encourages entrepreneurship and bolsters local economies.

The project fully integrates a gender perspective, recognising that women frequently handle meal preparation and spend a significant portion of their day not just on cooking but also on gathering fuel. The improved stoves, compared to traditional methods, nearly halve the use of woody biomass for the same results. In addition to reducing the time women spend gathering fuel and the costs families face when buying it, efficiency also means shorter cooking times, freeing up time for other activities. Lastly, there are additional health benefits, as the new stoves emit less smoke.

Currently, nearly 2.3 billion people rely on traditional biomass for cooking, with 1 billion of them in sub-Saharan Africa¹. Our aim is to cut the use of unsustainable fuels widespread across the continent, where meals are often prepared on open fires or basic stoves, subjecting people to dangerous smoke from burning coal, charcoal, and other products linked to unsustainable supply chains.

Clean Cooking initiatives

Eni's Clean Cooking initiatives gained fresh momentum in 2022 with the launch of improved stove distribution in Côte d'Ivoire, benefiting approximately 600,000 individuals.

In Mozambique, we are aiming to reach approximately 1.5 million people on the outskirts of Maputo and in two central provinces. Here, the initiative has engaged local firms to produce stoves, now used by over 100,000 individuals.

In the Republic of the Congo, the Clean Cooking Program was launched in 2023, and aims to enable the entire population of the two main cities (Brazzaville and Pointe Noire) to access the project by 2030. By the end of 2024, Eni had reached more than 200,000 people. The programme also concentrates on supporting local small businesses engaged in stove production, helping them swiftly achieve the required quality and quantity. The goal for the country is to reach at least 3.5 million people.

In 2024, we launched the programme to promote access to more efficient and safer cooking solutions for families in Angola as well. The project, already engaging over 200,000 individuals, aims to reach upwards of 2 million.

In Tanzania, a project was launched in 2024 with the aim of reaching 1 million people, starting from the regions of Tanga, Dodoma and Morogoro.

In Rwanda, the Clean Cooking Program commenced in the Nyagatare district in 2023. The first phase aims to reach 1 million people. Currently, 65,000 people are benefiting from the initiative. A second phase, aiming to reach an extra million people, will launch by the end of 2024. The country aims to reach 2 million people by 2030.

In line with the IEA scenarios and to ensure a fair energy transition, the Eni for Clean Cooking Program supports a gradual shift to “advanced” systems, including distributing induction stoves in cities and pyrolysis stoves in the countryside. These stoves encourage the circular economy by using agricultural waste, such as by-products from Eni's agri-feedstock supply chain.

Notes:

^{1) International Energy Agency (IEA) data}