Nigeria is making notable progress in expanding access to clean cooking, recording an average of 5.4 million additional people gaining access annually between 2020 and 2024. However, rising fuel costs, inadequate distribution networks and rapid population growth continue to undermine the country’s efforts to move households away from polluting cooking methods.

A new analysis published by Mongabay in October 2026 reveals that approximately 168 million Nigerians still depend on traditional fuels, including firewood, charcoal and kerosene, leaving the country with one of the world’s largest clean cooking deficits.

Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that Nigeria achieved the third-fastest growth in clean cooking access in Africa during the period, behind Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya. Access expanded by an average of 2.3 percentage points annually, reflecting efforts by successive administrations to reduce household dependence on traditional biomass fuels.

However, population growth has absorbed much of the progress. Nigeria’s population increased by approximately 4.8 million people annually between 2022 and 2025, adding substantial demand for household energy and making it difficult for clean cooking expansion to keep pace.

The remaining gap is considerable. Nearly three-quarters of Nigeria’s population still relied on polluting cooking fuels in 2024, according to the latest joint United Nations and World Bank tracking assessment cited by Mongabay. This makes Nigeria home to the world’s second-largest biomass-dependent population after India.

Fuelwood consumption has also continued to increase. United Nations energy statistics show that household consumption rose in almost every year between 2019 and 2023, reaching approximately 34 million cubic metres in 2023.

These figures highlight the difference between gaining access to cleaner cooking equipment and being able to use it consistently. Household income, fuel affordability and reliable distribution determine whether families can maintain the switch. Consequently, many households continue to treat cleaner cooking as an alternative when they can afford it rather than a permanent replacement for firewood and charcoal.

Experiences reported in Uyo and Abuja illustrate the financial difficulties. According to Mongabay, some traders and households that previously relied on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have returned to firewood and charcoal because of increasing cylinder refill costs.

For small food businesses, the cost of cooking fuel directly affects operating margins. Higher LPG prices can therefore make cleaner alternatives financially unsustainable, forcing business owners to reconsider their energy choices.

Nigeria’s policy response to the clean cooking challenge spans more than a decade. The National Domestic LPG Expansion Strategy, introduced in 2013, identified cooking gas as a major alternative to traditional fuels. This was followed by the 2019 National Clean Cooking Policy, which recognised both LPG and improved biomass cookstoves.

In 2021, the government launched the Decade of Gas programme to encourage greater domestic gas consumption and expand supporting infrastructure.

Despite these initiatives, affordability remains a major obstacle. Although Nigeria is a significant natural gas producer, domestic supply has not fully satisfied cooking gas demand, leaving the country exposed to imports and fluctuations in international prices.

The depreciation of the naira has increased the cost of imported fuel, while transportation and distribution expenses have further pushed up retail prices. The removal of petrol subsidies in 2023 also increased transportation costs across the economy, affecting the movement and distribution of cooking fuels.

Temilade Sesan, an Energy Transition Researcher at the University of Ibadan, said Nigeria’s progress had been inconsistent, partly because government strategies had shifted between distributing relatively inexpensive cookstoves and using carbon financing schemes to support more costly technologies.

These changes, she noted, have complicated efforts to establish a stable market for clean cooking solutions that remain affordable to low-income households.

Distribution challenges are also restricting adoption, particularly outside major cities. Caroline Sawe, a Research Associate at the Stockholm Environment Institute and the University of York, told Mongabay that inadequate LPG distribution networks had limited access to cooking gas in rural communities.

Electric cooking faces additional difficulties, including insufficient electricity access, unreliable grid supply and the high cost of appliances. Mongabay reported that electric cookstoves account for less than 5% of cooking methods used by urban populations in Nigeria and less than 1% in rural communities.

Addressing the problem therefore requires more than distributing additional cooking equipment or increasing the number of households officially classified as having clean cooking access. Households must be able to afford the required fuel, obtain it consistently and continue using cleaner technologies even when prices increase.

One practice that demonstrates the difficulty of achieving this transition is fuel stacking. This occurs when households combine different cooking fuels according to their affordability and availability.

For example, a family may own an LPG cylinder but continue using firewood for meals that require longer cooking periods or when the cost of refilling gas becomes prohibitive.

A 2020 study conducted in Benue State found that gaining access to LPG or improved cookstoves did not necessarily result in households abandoning firewood. Some families returned entirely to biomass fuels when cleaner alternatives became too expensive.

The IEA’s method of measuring clean cooking access also contributes to the difference between reported progress and actual household practices. Its estimates generally classify households according to their primary cooking fuel rather than accounting for every fuel they use.

Consequently, families alternating between LPG and firewood may still be recorded as having access to clean cooking, even when traditional fuels remain part of their daily activities.

The consequences of continued dependence on polluting fuels extend beyond household energy costs, particularly in relation to public health.

The World Health Organization estimates that household air pollution contributes to approximately 2.9 million premature deaths worldwide each year, with women and children experiencing disproportionate exposure.

In Nigeria, household air pollution was associated with an estimated 131,000 premature deaths in 2019, including more than 76,000 children below the age of five, according to research cited by Mongabay.

Traditional cooking fuels also contribute to pressure on forests and woodland ecosystems. Nigeria lost approximately 240,000 hectares of natural forest in 2025, according to Global Forest Watch figures referenced in the report. Agricultural expansion and wood harvesting were identified among the major drivers of the losses.

Charcoal supply chains serving urban consumers also depend on woodland resources in states such as Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Benue and Taraba. This connects household cooking practices with wider concerns about land degradation and the management of rural natural resources.

The economic implications are equally significant. Exposure to household air pollution increases health risks and can place additional demands on public healthcare systems. Time spent gathering firewood can also limit opportunities for education and income-generating activities.

Meanwhile, forest degradation threatens ecosystems that support agricultural production, water regulation and rural livelihoods. These environmental and social costs are rarely reflected in the prices households pay for firewood and charcoal.

The Federal Government is considering additional technologies as part of efforts to broaden the country’s clean cooking options.

Speaking at a clean cooking forum in Abuja in June 2026, the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Salihu Usman, disclosed that electric cooking was being incorporated into the National Clean Cooking Policy.

He identified affordability, inadequate infrastructure, limited consumer awareness and weak market development as major barriers to implementation. He also highlighted the importance of developing funding proposals capable of attracting investment from both public and private sector sources.

The effectiveness of the policy will depend partly on recognising the different energy requirements of urban and rural communities.

Expanding LPG distribution could be more practical in locations with established supply networks, while wider adoption of electric cooking would require more reliable electricity and improved access to the grid.

Other alternatives, including improved biomass technologies, biogas and ethanol, could also support communities where conventional fuel distribution is difficult, provided the technologies satisfy applicable health and emissions standards.

Financing remains a broader challenge across the African continent. According to the IEA, only 23% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to clean cooking in 2024.

Although approximately 15 million people gained access in 2025, population growth continues to outpace improvements in access across much of the region. The agency estimates that achieving universal clean cooking access in Africa could require sustained annual investment of approximately $4 billion.

At the 2024 Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, governments and development partners announced financing commitments totalling $2.2 billion.

However, by June 2026, only approximately $740 million had been disbursed across 30 countries, according to the IEA. The difference between pledged funding and actual disbursements highlights the need to translate financial commitments into practical projects supporting fuel supplies, distribution networks, local businesses and affordable household technologies.

For Nigeria, the next phase of the transition will depend on making cleaner cooking financially sustainable, particularly for low-income households, small business operators and communities outside major urban centres.

Expanding domestic fuel supplies, strengthening distribution infrastructure, supporting local manufacturing and introducing targeted affordability measures could help reduce the country’s exposure to international price fluctuations. Improvements to electricity infrastructure will also be necessary if electric cooking is to become a widely accessible alternative.

Although an average of more than five million Nigerians gained access to clean cooking annually between 2020 and 2024, the figures have yet to translate into a fundamental change in household energy consumption.

With approximately 168 million people still depending on polluting fuels, the country’s ability to sustain progress will increasingly depend on affordability, consistent fuel availability and infrastructure capable of reaching underserved communities.

SOURCE: Africa Sustainability Matters