About one billion persons in Africa still cook using open fires or fuels hazardous to their health and environment, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday, warning that the situation continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

The agency described the challenge as “one of the greatest injustices of our time,” especially across Africa, where four in five households still rely on polluting methods like burning wood and charcoal to prepare their meals.

“It is one of the greatest injustices of our time, especially in Africa,” said IEA head Fatih Birol in a report.

Globally, nearly two billion people still cook using open fires or rudimentary stoves fed by wood, charcoal, agricultural waste, or animal dung. These cooking methods, the IEA says, emit as much greenhouse gases each year as the entire aviation industry.

More than the environmental impact, the human toll is staggering. The report estimates that 815,000 premature deaths occur annually in Africa alone due to poor indoor air quality, primarily stemming from the lack of access to clean cooking.

“These fuels pollute the air both indoors and outdoors with fine particles that penetrate the lungs and cause multiple respiratory and cardiovascular problems,” the report stated.

Beyond health, the environmental cost is immense. The widespread felling of trees for firewood contributes to deforestation, depleting natural carbon sinks that are crucial for fighting global warming.

Women and children are the most affected, the report emphasized. They spend hours daily gathering fuel and tending fires—time that could otherwise go to school, work, or rest.

“This takes time away from paid employment or education,” the report added.

– ‘Can be easily solved’ –

While the problem is widespread, the IEA insists the solution is both simple and affordable.

“For once and for ever this problem can be solved with an annual investment of $2 billion per year,” Birol said, stressing that the figure is “about 0.1 percent of global energy investment, which is nothing.”

Alternative clean cooking solutions already exist: solar-powered electricity, renewable gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)—a fossil fuel that, while not perfect, is far less damaging than cutting down forests for firewood.

A major summit held in Paris in May last year saw $2.2 billion in public and private sector commitments secured, along with political backing from 12 African governments. So far, $470 million of that has been disbursed, and tangible progress is being made.

Birol cited examples such as a stove factory under construction in Malawi, and affordable stove initiatives now operating in Uganda and Ivory Coast.

Since 2010, nearly 1.5 billion people in Asia and Latin America, notably in Brazil, India, and Indonesia, have gained access to modern cooking equipment. However, sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind—with the number of people lacking clean cooking options still on the rise.

The IEA said its latest report tracks progress since the Paris summit and outlines a practical roadmap for African countries to achieve universal clean cooking access before 2040.

Such action would prevent an estimated 4.7 million premature deaths in sub-Saharan Africa by 2040, and slash the continent’s emissions by 540 million tonnes per year—equivalent to the annual emissions of the global aviation industry.