The President of the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA) and Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has called for urgent action to address Africa's clean cooking crisis.

Dr Abdul-Hamid emphasized the critical need for LPG to replace traditional biomass fuels, such as wood and charcoal, still heavily relied upon by millions of Africans.

He warned that the global effort to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7)—which focuses on providing affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all—is progressing too slowly, with Africa facing the steepest challenges.

The NPA Boss who made the remarks at the opening of the 2024 ARDA LPG Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast said that “80% of Africans still use polluting fuels for cooking, resulting in nearly half a million premature deaths annually”.

This year’s ARDA LPG Forum under the theme “Revolutionizing LPG Adoption and Long-Term Sustainability as a Cleaner Cooking Alternative across Africa” aimed at ensuring universal access to LPG by 2030; enhancing affordability and accessibility; fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships and developing infrastructure and supply chains.

The first-ever ARDA LPG Forum convened regulators, project developers, financiers, and experts to share success stories of LPG uptake; strengthen regulatory commitment and scale up finance for clean cooking.

As President of ARDA and Chief Executive of NPA, Dr. Abdul-Hamid is driving the push for cleaner cooking solutions, noting that "Africa's rapid population growth demands innovative energy solutions. LPG adoption is critical to reducing health risks, promoting sustainability, and driving economic growth."

The NPA urged African governments and international stakeholders to work together to accelerate LPG infrastructure development and create policies that support the transition to cleaner energy sources.

Partnerships between the public and private sectors, ARDA believes, are key to expanding access to LPG, reducing costs, and making clean energy more affordable for low-income households.

“LPG is a proven solution to one of the biggest energy challenges we face,” Dr. Abdul-Hamid stated. “We cannot afford to wait—this is a crisis, and we need all hands on deck to solve it.”