Nigerian clean energy company Greenplinth Africa Ltd is pushing ahead with plans to deploy 80 million clean cookstoves across the country, combining household energy access with carbon credit generation in what is described as one of the most ambitious clean cooking programs ever proposed on the African continent.
The company unveiled details of the initiative at a stakeholder event in Lagos attended by government officials, traditional rulers, climate experts, and development partners, Nigerian daily The Independent reported.
Greenplinth intends to distribute the stoves free of charge under a structured lease arrangement, with households receiving a proposed monthly cooking support stipend, healthcare coverage for families of up to eight members, and 40 kg (88 lb) of biomass briquettes each month over a 15-year period.
Each stove will carry a 30-year warranty and a digital measuring, reporting and verification (dMRV) device to generate verifiable usage data via blockchain, supporting carbon credit issuance and climate finance applications.
A pilot program launched in the informal settlement of Makoko, Lagos, has already produced striking results, as presented by Greenplinth at the event.
Lagos State Special Adviser on Climate Change Titilayo Oshodi, speaking virtually from London during Climate Action Week, said households previously consuming an average of 22 lb of firewood daily had cut consumption to roughly 1 lb following stove adoption.
“This is not incremental progress; this is transformational efficiency,” she said, adding that nearly 97% of pilot households abandoned multiple fuel sources entirely and all reported the stoves were safer than traditional cooking methods.
Relevant: Greenplinth To Deploy Six Million Clean Cookstoves In Lagos Pilot Program
The initiative is attracting interest from international climate finance institutions, Oshodi said. Greenplinth also intends to complement the cookstove program with a four-billion-tree planting effort.
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, event chairman and former Minister of Environment, welcomed the initiative, noting that indoor air pollution from traditional cooking kills more than three million people annually.
“Greenplinth…are not only helping us to get the carbon credits that others are reaping away, but they are helping humanity,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent.
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