As the target dates of goals set by the government about clean cooking are fast approaching, there is a sense that, while the government is doing what it can, there is more that needs to be done for the goals to be achieved.

Oreste Niyonsaba, the manager for clean cooking and biogas use at Energy Development Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of the Rwanda Energy Group, said, "we have a target that, by 2024, half our households would have shifted to more clean cooking techniques.” He added, "Rwanda is not yet on track but we are trying to put in more effort”.

The two primary clean cooking options, according to Niyonsaba, are for households to use more efficient cooking stoves when using charcoal or to move completely from firewood and charcoal to electricity or gas.

While there are many factors that contribute to the environmental deterioration in Rwanda, the Coordinator of Rwanda Climate Change and Development Network, Faustin Vuningoma, said that since cooking is one of the major uses of energy, transitioning to clean cooking is crucial.

"If we don’t promote clean cooking, it means that we are cutting trees...it means that we are not being able to fight respiratory diseases that are caused by the use of firewood, we are not reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, so at the end of the day we are increasing global warming,” Vuningoma said.

The government has been investing in a diverse portfolio of clean energy sources. 

According to Vuningoma, the production of biogas has been a primary alternative energy source that Rwanda is investing in.

While he said it would be one of the best solutions, it has faced some adversity in Rwanda.

"I am not sure why it has been with a lot of challenges. The number of biogas stations that have been provided, most of them are no longer working,” he said. "There could be an issue on the way of maintenance or the way they are just being handled.”

He also mentioned that Rwanda has invested in hydroelectricity and recently started investing in solar energy.

Vuningoma also said that investing in windmills could be another option for affordable energy sources.

Kigali takes lions share

Jean-Pierre Mugabo, Director General, Rwanda Forestry Authority, said that based on a study done by his institution in July last year, every week the City of Kigali alone is responsible for the consumption of 360 hectares of forest for the use of charcoal and firewood.

"Kigali consumes 72 per cent of the total charcoal produced in the country,” he said. "Having an alternative only for the capital can impact quick reduction of biomass use.”

The rate at which trees are currently being cut exceeds the rate at which trees are able to grow to a mature stage, according to Vuningoma. "There is a risk that carbon sequestration will no longer be there and there is even the chance that (the forests in Rwanda) will become a desert.”

Mugabo said the standing timber per hectare (the amount of uncut wood) is below average particularly in private forests.

"The expected standing stock per hectare is ideally expected to be 300 m3 per ha (and) the current standing stock per ha in a small holder forest is 80 m3 per ha,” he said. The Rwanda Forestry Authority and the Rwanda Energy Group are tackling the issue of non-clean cooking through increasing the production of tree planting and reducing the consumption of biomass energy, respectively.

Cutting greenhouse gasses

Mugabo said the Rwanda Forestry Authority has been working on projects such as training biomass users and producers on how to minimise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when producing charcoal. The project also disseminates improved cooking stoves to reduce the consumption of timber.

Other reforestation initiatives that are taking place include but are not limited to the Green Amayaga Forest landscape restoration project and the Green Gicumbi Project.

He added that within two years the aim is that Compressed Liquid Gas from Methane Gas, an alternative to biomass energy, will be produced locally.

Niyonsaba said that they are also working on starting initiatives to reduce the biomass consumption within major institutions such as schools and prisons as they are major consumers. The aim is to help these institutions to transition towards gas or electricity.

There has been recent global interest in the clean cooking initiative, but Niyonsaba said that this hasn’t always been the case. "There are times that clean cooking is not a priority for different countries. So this is a challenge for us as a country, to mobilise funds and have this sector developed,” he said. 

While the government is doing what it can, to fully achieve clean cooking there needs to be more funding from the private and global sector, said Niyonsaba.

"(Rwanda) needs to raise our voice through the World Bank, through the Global Clean Cooking Alliance and through different players so that countries can understand that there is a problem with people still using traditional cooking and that this is affecting the health of our population.”

While Vuningoma does think that the government is doing everything it can, he said that the work isn’t finished.

"We still have a long, long way to go. There is a lot of investment that needs to be put in in order to get to clean cooking,” Vuningoma said.

"Climate change is a threat globally, but also nationally, and it’s something that we could be looking at.”