Abstract
More than 90% of Rwandans rely on polluting solid fuels to meet their cooking needs. The negative impacts on health, climate, and the environment have led the Rwandan government to set a target of halving that number to 42% by 2024. A National Master Plan to promote scale up of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been developed to define (i) the necessary market conditions, (ii) public and private sector interventions, and (iii) the expected societal impacts. Findings are reported from modelling scenarios of scaling LPG use towards the 2024 policy target and the 2030 target for “universal access to clean modern energy” (SDG7). Household LPG use is projected to increase from 5.6% in 2020 to 13.2% by 2024 and 38.5% by 2030. This level of adoption could result in a reduction of 7656 premature deaths and 403,664 disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs), as well as 243 million trees saved. Reductions in carbon dioxide and black carbon emissions equivalents (CO2e and BCe, respectively) are estimated to reach 25.6 million MT and 14.9 MT, respectively, by 2030. While aggressive policy intervention is required, the health, environmental, and developmental benefits are clear. Implementation of the Rwanda National LPG Master Plan will provide a model for other sub-Saharan African countries to address the priorities for cessation of reliance on solid fuels as an energy source.
Highlights
Rwanda, a small landlocked country situated in East Africa, is the most densely populated country in sub-Saharan Africa with a population density of 1 per 525 square meters and a total population of 12.952 million (2020) [1]
Similar to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the household energy market in Rwanda is dominated by cooking energy, and cooking energy is dominated by reliance on solid fuels
While use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or bottled gas for cooking has doubled in Rwanda since 2016 [6], still only 5.6% of households report using it as a primary cooking fuel in 2020 [5]
Summary
A small landlocked country situated in East Africa, is the most densely populated country in sub-Saharan Africa with a population density of 1 per 525 square meters and a total population of 12.952 million (2020) [1]. Similar to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the household energy market in Rwanda is dominated by cooking energy, and cooking energy is dominated by reliance on solid fuels. While use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or bottled gas for cooking has doubled in Rwanda since 2016 [6], still only 5.6% of households report using it as a primary cooking fuel in 2020 [5]. Other clean fuels are even less prevalent in household cooking, with 0.23% of households reporting using biogas and 0.19% using electricity for cooking [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
