WLGA Pushes For Widespread LPG Adoption Across Cameroon And Central Africa

WLGA Pushes For Widespread LPG Adoption Across Cameroon And Central Africa

At the 2025 Central Africa LPG Expo, the World Liquid Gas Association (WLGA) made a bold and urgent call for African nations to ramp up their transition to clean cooking solutions, with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) at the centre of this transformation. Hosted in Yaoundé, Cameroon, under the patronage of Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, the Prime Minister, and represented by Minister Gaston Eloundou Essomba, the event convened hundreds of energy experts, policymakers, and business leaders from across the continent.

The stakes were made clear during the Cooking for Life Africa Workshop, where participants, led by the WLGA, zeroed in on practical pathways for increasing LPG access in Cameroon and neighbouring countries. The resounding message? The future of Africa’s public health, environmental sustainability, and energy inclusion hinges on clean cooking  and LPG is one of the most viable tools available.

Why the Push for LPG?

Across Africa, an overwhelming majority  nearly 80% of households and 90% of schools  still rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking. This not only contributes to rampant deforestation but also exposes millions of women and children to toxic smoke, resulting in severe respiratory illnesses and thousands of premature deaths annually.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that sub-Saharan Africa alone will require at least $4 billion in investment in LPG infrastructure by 2030 to facilitate the shift from harmful biomass to clean cooking fuels. This transition is no longer just a matter of energy policy, it is a humanitarian and environmental imperative.

From Schools to Households: LPG as a Game-Changer

One area of focus is the conversion of school kitchens to LPG. In Kenya, schools consume over 1.3 million metric tonnes of wood annually. Studies from the CLEAN-Air (Africa) programme revealed that school kitchens regularly exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air pollution limits by up to five times. The Equity Group Foundation’s Clean Cooking Project is leading the charge in Kenya, working with the government to convert school kitchens to LPG use and offering five-year loan repayment plans to make the switch affordable. This model is not only improving air quality and student health, but also creating job opportunities and lowering operational costs in the long term. If adopted widely across Africa, such programmes could rapidly accelerate clean energy adoption at scale.

Empowering Women and Building Local Economies

Access to clean cooking is fundamentally an issue of gender and economic equity. Women and girls in households without clean cooking solutions spend an average of five hours daily collecting firewood and cooking. This burden severely limits their opportunities to pursue education, engage in income-generating activities, or participate in civic life. LPG, as a portable and efficient energy source, offers an immediate improvement in daily life. The time and energy saved can empower millions of women across the continent, unlocking education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities that ripple out into wider community development.

The Role of Regulation, Education, and Infrastructure

Key to unlocking this LPG revolution is a triad of action: infrastructure development, enforcement of safety regulations, and consumer education. Speakers at the Expo emphasized the need for regional LPG terminals, improved supply chains, and investments in storage and distribution hubs. They also underscored the importance of educating end-users, especially rural populations on the safe use of LPG to ensure long-term adoption and safety.

This is where initiatives like the newly launched Women in LPG (WINLPG) Cameroon National Chapter can play a transformative role. Under the patronage of Her Excellency Professor Abena Ondoa, Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family, the fifteenth WINLPG chapter aims to mainstream gender inclusion in LPG adoption and promote women as active change agents in the energy sector.

A Vision for the Future

James Rockall, CEO of the WLGA, aptly noted that LPG offers a dependable and accessible fuel for communities across the Global South. In a world increasingly rocked by natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, and energy insecurity, LPG stands out as a stable, scalable, and clean solution, one that can deliver immediate benefits while supporting long-term goals for sustainability and resilience.

Cameroon’s Energy Minister, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, captured the sentiment best: “LPG plays a vital role in Cameroon’s energy landscape, supporting economic growth, environmental sustainability and public health improvement.”

Final Thoughts

As global efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7, access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all  gather momentum, Africa must not be left behind. The 2025 Central Africa LPG Expo has thrown down the gauntlet: governments, businesses, and civil society must now come together to invest in the systems, technologies, and people that will make clean cooking not just an ambition, but a continental reality.

At LPG in Nigeria, we are committed to tracking and amplifying these developments. We urge readers to follow us on WhatsApp, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook for real-time updates, price trends, and success stories that are shaping Africa’s clean energy transition.

Let’s move the needle together, one cylinder, one household, and one community at a time.

Source: Environ News

• Lpg expo
• lpg
• cooking gas
• wlga
• lpg stakeholders