Clean Cooking Solutions: ECOWAS Rallies West Africa for Energy Shift.

By Raymond Enoch.

In a bold move to combat energy poverty and environmental degradation, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched a new regional push for clean, affordable, and efficient cooking solutions across West Africa.

On September 29, 2025, ECOWAS, in collaboration with the European Union (EU) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, convened the Steering Committee for the Regional Clean Cooking Action in West Africa (ReCCAWA) in Abuja, Nigeria. The high-level meeting signals a renewed commitment to revolutionize cooking practices in a region where traditional biomass fuels still dominate household energy use.

Backed by a €15.5 million funding package, the ReCCAWA programme will span four years, aiming to significantly scale up access to clean cooking technologies in all 15 ECOWAS member states. The programme is co-funded by the EU and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and jointly implemented by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), in collaboration with Energising Development (EnDev).

The regional initiative will address the dire health, environmental, and economic consequences of traditional cooking methods, which affect millions of households, particularly women and children. With this new multi-partner strategy, ECOWAS is positioning clean cooking not only as a climate and health imperative but also as a vital tool for economic empowerment and sustainable development.

As the programme takes root, stakeholders anticipate a significant shift in West Africa’s energy narrative—one that places clean cooking at the heart of regional energy transformation.