Sheila Oparaocha’s speech at the Clean Cooking Energy Compact launch

With the 2030 deadline for achieving universal energy access, a little over 8 years away we need ambitious commitments to reach the least attractive markets, and those with the slowest progress to date towards universal clean cooking.

ENERGIA is unequivocal that we cannot achieve a just and inclusive transition to universal clean cooking without women being decision makers, co-investors, and providers of clean cooking solutions.

ENERGIA is proud to be a founding member of the Clean Cooking SDG7 Multi-Stakeholder Energy Compact. In doing our part for the Compact we make the commitment to achieve the following by 2025:

• Empowering and equipping 8000 Women Entrepreneurs with skills, knowledge and resources to sustainably engage in the supply of energy services including clean cooking for households and productive uses, to 4 million consumers living in last mile communities.
• Improving the enabling policy and institutional environment by providing technical assistance to 12 companies and government agencies to develop, implement, and monitor gender-responsive, gender-transformative energy policies and strategies including on clean cooking
• We will proactively engage in transformative partnerships that mobilize investments, political commitment and accelerate concrete action. These include the Multi Stakeholder Gender and Energy Compact, the Africa Europe Energy Partnership, the SDG 7 Technical Advisory Group, the Health and Energy Platform for Action and of course this Clean Cooking Compact.
• We will continue to facilitate voices and presence of empowered women and youth at the decision-making tables and in leadership through several initiatives including by supporting at least 10 women per year to participate in national and international forums, and by supporting higher education on gender and energy through the ENERGIA Kleinman Fellowship.
• We will enhance public awareness on gender and clean cooking through national level campaigns reaching 70 million people.
• We will build robust evidence, knowledge products, and tools, and drive pioneering innovations that address gender and clean cooking challenges in developing countries.
• We will hold ourselves accountable to reducing gender gaps in every aspect of the clean cooking sector, and will call for accountability and transparency from others on their gender and clean cooking targets and commitments.

We congratulate the Clean Cooking Alliance and all other partners for prioritising this very important compact that is a critical milestone in achieving SDG7 and SDG5.

Please visit CCA’s “Unlock the SDGs and Net-Zero with Clean Cooking” Energy Compact webpage to learn more.