The switch to cleaner cooking stoves is a game-changer for millions of Africans, but the real question is: how affordable is it?

For Mary Kavutha, a mother of two in Nairobi, the answer is a resounding yes. Two years ago, she still relied on charcoal, taking the stove outside because the smoke made indoor cooking difficult. But now, thanks to a cleaner induction cooker, breakfast starts with the stove switched on at the wall and controlled with the turn of a dial. The change wasn’t driven by climate policy, but by the daily calculations that shape household life here. Things like cost, speed, safety and whether she can cook near her children without filling the home with smoke.

The International Energy Agency estimates that nearly 1 billion Africans still rely on wood, charcoal and other fuels that produce harmful smoke. Household air pollution from those fuels contributes to about 850,000 deaths each year in Africa, making it a major public health concern. But there are signs of hope. Financing behind cleaner cooking stoves is becoming more affordable, thanks to carbon credits. When households use less charcoal, firewood or other polluting fuels, clean cooking companies can calculate the emissions avoided, have those reductions verified, and sell credits linked to them.

This model is being used by companies like BURN, which makes electric and efficient biomass cookstoves. The Nairobi-based firm has distributed more than 7.3 million stoves across 11 African countries. Its induction stoves include computer chips that allow usage to be tracked remotely, giving the company data on whether the stove is being used and how much energy it consumes. This data is crucial in proving the effectiveness of the carbon credit model, as it helps companies raise money in advance, lowering the price paid by customers who might not be able to afford a stove upfront.

But the carbon credit model is not without its critics. George Mwaniki, a representative of the World Resources Institute, Kenya, says that relying wholly on carbon credits to support the transition will be extremely slow and may not happen at the pace that Africa needs. The issue is not just the timing, but also the credibility of some projects, especially where emissions savings are hard to prove. Stronger standards, Bluetooth monitoring, digital verification and real-time usage data are needed to make the credits more reliable.

The rollout of cookware like this is being driven by the need to reduce emissions and improve public health. But the larger test is whether the financing behind that switch can keep working at the scale Africa’s clean cooking transition needs. Can the carbon credit model be scaled up to meet the demand for 15 million stoves a year, as Africa is projected to grow to 4 billion people by 2100? Only time will tell, but for now, companies like BURN are leading the way, making cleaner cooking stoves more affordable and accessible to millions of Africans.

The switch to cleaner cooking stoves is a significant step towards reducing emissions and improving public health. But it is also a reminder of the systemic issues that have led to this situation in the first place. The reliance on wood, charcoal and other polluting fuels is a symptom of a broader problem: the lack of access to clean energy and the lack of investment in African infrastructure. It is a problem that requires a comprehensive solution, not just a quick fix.

As Mary Kavutha puts it, the induction cooker has brought cooking back into her home, making it safer and more affordable. But the larger question is: how can we make this transition happen at scale, and how can we ensure that it is not just a rich-poor divide, but a continent-wide effort. The answer lies in the financing behind cleaner cooking stoves, and the need for stronger standards, better monitoring, and more reliable data. Only then can we hope to make the switch to cleaner cooking stoves a reality for all Africans.