Only 2.5 million Mozambicans have access to clean energy

Maputo, 18 Apr (AIM) – Only 2.5 million Mozambicans (about six per cent of the population) have access to clean energy.

According to the National Director for Hydrocarbons and Fuels at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, Moisés João, who was speaking, in Maputo, at panels during the 1st Southern African LPG Conference, under the motto: “Promoting Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a Cooking Energy in Southern and Eastern Africa”, the annual per capita consumption of clean energy is currently estimated at 1.4 kilos.

Mozambique is one of the countries with the lowest per capita consumption of LPG (often referred to simply as cooking gas) in the southern African region. By way of comparison, LPG consumption in Eswatini, for example, is 5.3 kilos a year, while in neighboring South Africa it is 6.3 kilos per capita per year.

“Today, in Mozambique, not all families use gas, and this is linked to the low income in the communities. 92 percent of the population uses biomass energy (wood fuels) for domestic use, which means that our mothers continue to suffer using charcoal”, he said.

According to João, the central and northern provinces of the country are the most critical in the use of clean energy.

“We propose adjusting our legislation. Our proposal is to create a legal mechanism that restricts the access of biomass in cities and the expansion of LPG”, he said.

The government launched the “National Programme for the Mass Use of LPG” in 2022, which aims to develop sustainable and comprehensive use by reducing LPG distribution costs, increasing availability and removing barriers to access.

“We want Mozambicans to use clean energy and we want it to serve the development of the Mozambican economy”, he said.

The government is currently seeking to comply with two international protocols, namely the United Nations 2030 Agenda for the adoption of cleaner energy and the Paris Agreement, in response to the threat of climate change.

(AIM)

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