Rwanda is expected to start exploiting methane gas for cooking next year—in one of the country’s latest efforts to stem air pollution and preserve the environment.

The news comes at the time when the latest report on the state of environment in Rwanda shows that in 2017 some 12,000 people died due to cases related to poor air quality.

Out of these, 9,040 deaths were due to indoor air pollution while 2,960 due to ambient air pollution.

For the past two years, the government has been working with Gasmeth Energy on a $400 million project to transform methane gas from Lake Kivu into compressed natural gas for cooking, industrial use and vehicles.

This is good news for our environment.

It will potentially avert health concerns, particularly respiratory diseases, which are driven by air pollution due to overreliance on wood.

According to official data, more than three million Rwandans suffer from respiratory problems every year, of which 13 per cent is caused by air pollution.

The project is hence estimated to help reduce reliance on wood fuel from 80 per cent to 40 per cent by 2024.

Globally, air pollution kills an estimated seven million people every year.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits containing high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

In Rwanda, plans are also underway to ban the use of charcoal in the City of Kigali.

With statistics showing that wood fuel consumption, including charcoal, was estimated at 4.2 metric tonnes per year, the use of compressed natural gas is timely. It will definitely save our trees and preserve the environment.

From a trade perspective, the use of compressed natural gas could also potentially help reduce the country’s import bill for LPG.

Rwanda currently 10,000 tonnes of LPG. This figure could rise to more than 240,000 tonnes by 2024, and potentially increase the amount of money the country spends on this product.

Local production of compressed natural gas offset this spending.