INSIGHT : How carbon finance is powering Nigeria clean cooking drive

thecable.ng · Feb 21, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Fifty-nine-year-old Jumai Ishaya bent over her charcoal stove, fanning stubborn embers with a broken hand fan in the dim, grey light of early morning. Her small thatch kitchen in Duwodu, Jos South LGA of Plateau state, smelled of damp wood and smoke from the previous night’s rain. Soot clung stubbornly to the rafia roof and walls, coating the pots stacked in the corner like a second layer of grime. Every puff of air she blew into the fire sent smoke curling back into her face, stinging her eyes until tears ran freely down her cheeks. She had to cook before heading to the market, but the charcoal refused to catch fire quickly. She coughed violently, mucus forcing its way out of her nostrils, as she stumbled outside for air, leaning against the wall to draw deep breaths and steady herself. Across the fence, she noticed her neighbour’s pot simmering quietly over a stove. The air around it was clear — no grey haze, no stinging smoke, no frantic fanning. Curiosity tugged at her as she stepped over to peer at the compact, enclosed stove her neighbour used. The fire burned clean and steady. For years, Jumai’s mornings had begun this way, choking on smoke, eyes burning, throat raw. Each meal demanded nearly N500 in charcoal, and she needed to buy N1,500 worth for a single day. After weeks of watching her neighbour, Ishaya decided to buy a BURN clean cookstove. The first time she lit it, she braced for the usual haze. But nothing came. The fire caught instantly, the air stayed clear, and the kitchen remained smoke-free. “Whenever I start to dey cook, smoke dey full my kitchen, and the thing dey enter my eye. As I be old woman, my eye no good, and the smoke the make am worse,” Ishaya said in Pidgin English. “Since wey I buy this my stove for 2023, e dey quick done my food, and my kitchen no dey smoke again.” Ishaya, whose eye problem worsened from constant exposure to smoke, told TheCable that she has been able to save money using the BURN stove. She said charcoal that once ran out daily now lasted weeks, and the soot that coated her walls stopped spreading, and she no longer had to step outside mid-cooking to catch her breath. “Now, I just close my eyes and carry one bag of charcoal that they sell for N5,000, and it will last me for one month before I go buy another one,” she added. HOW CARBON CREDITS ARE SUPPORTING CLEAN COOKING DRIVE Ishaya’s story mirrors the challenges faced by about 160 million Nigerians who lack access to clean cooking. In 2025, Nigeria pledged to increase the pace of access to clean cooking from the initially projected 22 per cent per year to 25 per cent annually. Unsustainable cooking using firewood or charcoal harms human health and the environment, causing respiratory illnesses, indoor air pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2024, Balarabe Lawal, minister of environment, said Nigeria is targeting 54 percent Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) usage and 20 percent electric stove usage by 2030. The country is also envisaging a 13 percent share for fuel-efficient biomass cookstoves, five percent for briquettes derived from agricultural waste, and three percent for biogas by the same year. Across Africa, traditional fuels such as wood and charcoal remain the mainstay for nearly one billion people, contributing to 815,000 premature deaths annually from household air pollution and the loss of 1.3 million hectares of forest each year. But subsidised cookstoves like BURN are helping Nigeria tackle its clean cooking challenge. Sola Fatoba, BURN’s regional carbon policy lead for West Africa, said the company subsidises its products through carbon credits — tradable certificates that demonstrate the reduction, removal, or avoidance of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO₂). According to the company, these credits allow it to subsidise stove prices by 60 to 100 percent. “A stove that would normally cost $40 can be offered to families for as little as $5. BURN has subsidised stove prices by 60–100%, delivering approximately US$15 million in discounts to Nigerian households,” Fatoba told TheCable. Fatoba noted that this approach ensures families can access life-saving technology immediately while delivering measurable emissions reductions. She said BURN has distributed over 650,000 clean cookstoves, improving the lives of more than 2.2 million people, saving 7.8 million tonnes of wood, and avoiding nearly 12 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. Fatoba added that all carbon credits are certified under the Gold Standard, one of the most rigorous voluntary carbon market standards. She explained that the company also uses conservative methodologies, including Technologies and Practices to Displace Decentralized Thermal Energy Consumption (TPDDTEC) and Methodology for Metered and Measured Cooking Devices (MMECD), to calculate and verify emissions reductions. ‘CLEAN COOKSTOVES CAN HELP NIGERIA MEET ITS CLIMATE TARGET’ Horsfall Tony, consultant at Carbon Partners and president of the Nigeria Carbon Market Association (NCMA), told TheCable that clean cooking projects are emerging as one of the most practical entry points into Nigeria’s growing carbon market, delivering climate action and direct household benefits simultaneously. He noted that carbon markets are not just about profit but also about balancing environmental protection, social inclusion, and economic growth: people, planet, and profit. He expressed optimism that clean cookstove projects can help Nigeria meet its climate targets under its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) if private investors are supported with confidence and an enabling environment. “Traditional biomass cooking contributes to deforestation and indoor air pollution, exposing women and children to severe health risks. By introducing efficient stoves, projects reduce fuel consumption, cut emissions, and lower pressure on forests,” Tony said. “The market has the potential to accelerate climate finance in Nigeria, but collaboration and coordination are key.” With initiatives like BURN’s subsidised stoves and the government’s ambitious targets, whether Nigeria will be able to meet its 2030 deadline for universal access to clean cooking remains the burning question.