The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) and the Government of Ghana hosted the Clean Cooking Forum 2022 in Accra from October 11-13.

The three-day event had over 600 attendees from over 50 countries as the largest convening of investors, executives, government officials, academics, and advocates working to accelerate access to clean cooking in Ghana to help pursue SDG 7.

Speaking at the event, the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo stated that for Ghana to help meet climate goals, the country ought to consider the use of clean cooking to help save the environment.

“The Clean Cooking Forum is an opportunity to showcase Ghana’s leadership on the matter of clean cooking and inspire stakeholders around the world, to take more action towards a just and inclusive clean energy transition”.

Rebecca Akufo-Addo, said “it will be impossible to meet global climate goals, achieve a just clean energy transition, protect our environment, achieve gender equality and provide a future for the next generation, without changing the way people cook”.

The well-attended forum hosted in Accra also featured an Innovation Expo, showcasing the latest developments in clean cooking technologies and business models, including many from across Ghana.

The Forum also featured a musical performance from two-time Grammy-nominated artist Rocky Dawuni, a native of Ghana and a long-time champion of the Clean Cooking Alliance.

In addition, the Forum’s convening power will facilitate a wide selection of side events hosted by CCA and partners, as well as a “Ghana Day” focusing on the state of the country’s clean cooking sector.

Also speaking at the event on the opening day, Mr. Ed Brown, a researcher at the Loughborough University, stated that it is cheaper to use electricity to cook than make use of traditional cooking methods.

“It’s a myth that cooking with electricity is expensive. If you look at the data and the volume of research done, it is clear that using electricity to cook is far cheaper as compared to the use of charcoal or LPG,” he said.

He added that there is an ongoing discussion going on with the government to help raise awareness and make use of clean cooking to help meet SDG 17 across the country.

CCA commended the African Development Bank, Global Affairs Canada, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, World Bank ESMAP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Endev, the European Commission, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sustainable Energy for All, Modern Energy Cooking Services, UK AID, BIX Capital, the African Guarantee Fund, and the Africa-Europe Foundation.