By Hannah Dadzie
UK Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds, has announced a major package to boost global access to clean forms of cooking that avoid burning wood or coal, including in Ghana.
Globally, around 2.1 billion people still have to cook on firewood, charcoal, or other polluting fuels, often worsening the health of many women and girls in particular and damaging forests. The funding of £74 million will extend clean cooking access to an additional 10 million people in countries across West Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific.
Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said Britain is back with a voice on the world stage, and we are leading on new initiatives to support health and the environment.
“This package will support 10 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Indo-Pacific to leave coal and wood cooking behind, helping the environment while also improving the health of women and girls who are so often exposed to damaging fumes from burning coal and wood,” Minister Dodds said.
“Nothing could be more central to the UK’s own national interest than delivering progress on arresting rising temperatures. This is our chance to achieve clean and secure energy, both globally and at home, and, in doing so, drive growth for the UK,” she added.
The Minister for Development made these pledges while attending COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. With the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Energy Secretary, and others also attending, UK ministers are seeking to encourage ambitious emissions reductions and agreements that take the needs of the Global South into account while also growing the UK’s economy and maximising opportunities for Britain.
£44 million of the clean cooking package will come from a five-year extension to the UK government’s Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme up to 2030. The remaining £30m will come through the Ayrton Fund, which aims to accelerate the clean energy transition in Global South countries.
Alongside this, the Minister will announce a $16 million investment by British International Investment (BII) into Africa Go Green, a fund backing early-stage businesses taking climate action in Africa, including accelerating access to clean cooking solutions.
The Minister Dodds has also announced at COP29 a boost to support the Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) programme in Africa.
WISER sees the UK Met Office partner with meteorological organisations across Africa to increase countries’ capacity to forecast and plan for extreme weather events and climate change. Additional funding of £30m from the UK will support farmers and communities in adapting to a changing climate. This brings total funding up to £47m. This aligns with the modern approach to development outlined by Minister Dodds at Chatham House in October, based on working in partnership with the Global South.
The UK will continue to prioritise the most vulnerable and remains committed to spending £1.5bn in 2025 to support countries with building resilience to the impacts of climate change, tripling adaptation spend from 2019 levels. This is part of the existing UK commitment to spend £11.6bn in International Climate Finance between April 2021 and March 2026.