With more than 2.6 billion people without access to clean cooking technologies as of 2019, ENERGIA focused its advocacy activities on ensuring that this theme would be considered in the international political agenda. Major efforts are needed to bridge this gap and immediate action is required to scale up universal access to clean cooking technologies and services.

ENERGIA became involved in several international events focused on advancing access to clean cooking technologies. We did not miss any opportunity to advocate on how to address persistent inequalities, while strengthening the resilience of lower-income communities, women and other vulnerable groups. ENERGIA shared recommendations from our research to promote women’s empowerment in clean cooking and to suggest policy actions needed to support the clean cooking economy and a gender equal transition to sustainable energy.

Multi-stakeholder Health and Energy Platform of Action (HEPA)

ENERGIA supported and became a member of the global, multi-stakeholder Health and Energy Platform of Action (HEPA), formally launched by the WHO Director-General at the 72nd World Health Assembly in November 2019. The platform aims to help countries strengthen the political and technical cooperation between their health and energy sectors. Along with more than 20 leaders, including ministers of health and energy, heads of international organizations and senior representatives from civil society institutions, ENERGIA endorsed a Strategic Roadmap on Health and Energy. The Roadmap identifies key steps to accelerate access to clean and sustainable energy for public health protection and serves as a call to action to increase commitments, mobilize resources and put enabling frameworks in place.

It comprises, among other things, the following six actions and recommendations:

• Consider clean cooking and access to electricity in healthcare facilities development priorities, essential to protect public health;
• Dramatically increase public and private investments to electrifying healthcare facilities and for clean cooking;
• Provide the necessary human and financial resources to design and implement clean energy plans and sustainable delivery models tailored to the needs of health sector and households;
• Develop tailored policy and financing schemes, able to unlock the potential of clean and sustainable energy solutions and to address the health sector needs;
• Increase cooperation between the energy and health sectors and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders;
• Facilitate collaboration between private, public, and non-governmental actors.

Africa-Europe Foundation Clean Cooking Manifesto

ENERGIA also supported the Africa-Europe Foundation Clean Cooking Manifesto. Signed by over 65 high-level stakeholders and organizations from across Africa and Europe, the Manifesto urges governments, development partners and the private sector to adopt a collective action agenda on clean cooking, to ensure that everyone can prepare food in a safe, clean and affordable way.

The Manifesto identifies 10 immediate actions to ensure clean cooking for all is achieved by 2030:

• Ensure a just energy transition that leaves no one behind
• Integrate clean cooking into nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national energy
  planning
• Create and resource governmental clean cooking ‘delivery units’
• Enact favourable and stable fiscal policies to sustain business growth and increase affordability
• Support countries to develop appropriate policy frameworks and technical support to enable the rapid growth of clean cooking solutions
• Increase funding to match the magnitude of the clean cooking challenge
• Develop sustainable markets that deliver clean and affordable solutions
• Increase private sector investment in clean cooking solutions
• Build stronger partnerships with the electricity sector to advance electric cooking
• Increase participation of women and integrate gender issues
• Bold action must be taken to ensure that billions of people have the means to prepare food in a safe, clean and affordable way.

Gender and Energy Compact

A coalition initiated by ENERGIA, Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and supported by the Governments of Iceland, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya and Sweden launched a Gender and Energy Compact to catalyze action towards gender equality and women’s empowerment to accelerate a just, inclusive and sustainable energy transition. The coalition brings together governments, private sector, academia, civil society, youth, and international organizations—all under the same overall objective: To promote a just and inclusive, and gender responsive energy transition.

The undersigning parties commit to supporting and accelerating action for two main goals. First, that women have equal opportunity to lead, participate in and benefit from a just, sustainable and inclusive energy transition. Second, that women have equal access to and control over sustainable energy products and services.