LPG in Africa: Big potential but big barriers

LPG could rapidly expand access to clean cooking across Africa and prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from indoor air pollution each year, but infrastructure shortages and regulatory barriers are slowing investment and market growth

LPG could play a decisive role in tackling energy poverty across Africa and reduce millions of premature deaths linked to indoor air pollution from the use of dirtier fuels in cooking. But inadequate infrastructure and regulatory barriers are slowing down the market’s expansion, James Rockall, CEO of the World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA), told Petroleum Economist. Around four-fifths of the population in sub-Saharan Africa still lacks access to clean cooking fuels, relying instead on wood, charcoal or other solid fuels that produce harmful indoor smoke. The health consequences are severe. Nearly 1m premature deaths occur each year as a result of exposure to household air pollution, predomin