[Kampala, Uganda] – [November 24, 2025] – Following the recent G20 Leaders’ Declaration from the South Africa Summit, wePlanet today intensified its demand that G20 nations, as primary shareholders of the World Bank, immediately remove institutional barriers that block finance for clean cooking fuels like Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The G20 Declaration validated the core message of wePlanet’s JustStopCooking campaign by stating with alarm that two million Africans lose their lives annually due to the absence of clean cooking fuels – a devastating toll from indoor air pollution caused by wood and charcoal.
“We have been sounding the alarm about the human and environmental cost of dirty cooking fuels,” said Patricia Nanteza, wePlanet’s Africa Coordinator. “The G20’s explicit acknowledgement of the two million annual deaths proves this is a moral, public health, and climate emergency. Now, action must follow alarm.”
The Institutional Barrier
wePlanet highlighted the continued hypocrisy of global financial policy, which we termed ‘carbon colonialism,’ which restricts financing for LPG in developing countries because it is a fossil fuel. At the same time, wealthier nations expand their own fossil fuel infrastructure.
“Our #JustStopCooking Campaign questions this fundamental injustice: How can global finance policies prohibit funding for LPG – a clean transition fuel that saves lives and forests in Africa, while wealthier nations simultaneously expand their own fossil fuel infrastructure?” Nanteza added.
The Demand for Action
While the G20 committed to a Voluntary Infrastructure Investment Action Plan that supports explicitly accessible and affordable clean cooking technologies, including LPG, wePlanet insists this commitment must translate into institutional change.
The G20 Leaders’ Declaration outlines plans for:
- Concessional and Blended Finance: Mixing public and private capital to de-risk investment in clean cooking infrastructure.
- Innovative Financing: Exploring mechanisms like debt-for-climate swaps to restructure debt in exchange for life-saving clean energy investments.
However, existing lending restrictions undermine these funding mechanisms. “The G20 must instruct the World Bank and other development banks to immediately remove the de facto ban on financing LPG for clean cooking, aligning their lending policies with this declaration. The G20 has sounded the alarm; now, they must deliver the funding through their institutions like the World Bank.”