< Go Back

Lagos has started one of Africa’s largest cookstoves project

The Lagos State Government in Nigeria has launched one of Africa’s largest clean cookstoves projects to promote clean energy access and reduce carbon emissions.

The project, registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Climate Action Portal, aims to distribute 80 million highly efficient fuelwood stoves for free to women, low-income earners and households in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

It is expected to generate carbon credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.

Titilayo Oshodi, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, highlighted the project’s scope and ambition during a press briefing on Monday in Alausa, Ikeja.

She said the project will generate 1,2 billion tonnes of compliance carbon offsets and create more than 35 million green jobs.

“The 80m Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism Clean Cookstoves Project is not just the largest clean cooking initiative in the world; it is a bold economic, social, and environmental blueprint that will deploy 80 million highly efficient, clean cookstoves across Nigeria,” she said.

Lagos as pilot location for Nigeria’s cookstove project

At a three-day event, which was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos in March this year to officially launch and strategise the implementation of the 80 Million Clean Cookstoves Initiative, it was decided that the initiative rollout is scheduled to begin in June 2025, with Makoko, Lagos, as the pilot location.

Some key outcomes included:

• Paid-to-cook model: beneficiaries will earn ₦10,000 ($6.31) monthly for stove usage.
• Job creation: over 80,000 clean energy jobs to be created in Lagos alone.
• Afforestation drive: 4 billion trees to be planted nationwide.
• Carbon revenue projection: Nigeria is positioned to earn up to ₦960 billion ($606.5 million) annually through compliance carbon credit markets.
• Sustainable development impact: the initiative aligns with seven Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action, gender equality, health and economic growth.

According to the Global Climate Action Portal, deforestation and desertification have become serious concerns in Nigeria, as wood demand for heat energy, both residential and commercial, far surpasses the available renewable woody biomass.

The improved cooking mechanism conserves more than 80% of fuel wood. By reducing fuelwood usage, the project activity helps to reduce deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions caused by the use of non-renewable biomass.

The Paris Agreement Credit Mechanism, established in Article 6.4, allows an entity to cut emissions in one nation, have them credited, and then sell them to another company in another country.

Now watch