Environmental advocacy group WePlanet has called on the World Bank to reverse its ban on financing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) projects in Africa, arguing that the policy endangers lives and accelerates deforestation across the continent.
Speaking during the launch of its new campaign titled “Just Stop Cooking”, the organisation criticised what it described as “carbon colonialism” policies that, according to WePlanet, impose harsh climate restrictions on African countries while allowing wealthier nations to expand fossil fuel infrastructure.
“While Europe builds LNG import terminals, it tells Africa to wait for non-viable solutions. This is carbon colonialism: one rule for the rich, another for the poor,” said Patricia Nanteza, WePlanet’s Africa Coordinator.
“LPG is not perfect, but it is the fastest way to save lives, protect forests, and empower women. Banning LPG financing is not environmentalism, it is moral failure.”
The campaign is underpinned by a report also titled Just Stop Cooking, which outlines the health, gender, and environmental implications of restricting access to clean cooking fuels in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the African Development Bank, more than 83% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population approximately 900 million people rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking.
This results in an estimated 700,000 premature deaths annually due to indoor air pollution, with women and children being the most affected.
WePlanet argues that a rapid transition to clean cooking using LPG would yield immediate public health benefits and support broader climate and development goals.
The report’s foreword, written by Ghana’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, Hon. Issifu Seidu, labeled the World Bank’s policy a “grave injustice.”
“Denying African countries concessional financing for LPG in the name of climate is a grave injustice,” Seidu stated.
“We must put saving lives before ideology.”
WePlanet’s campaign uses satire to spotlight the contradictions in global climate finance policies but is underscored by an urgent plea: that Africa must not be left behind in the energy transition due to restrictions that fail to reflect the continent’s immediate needs and realities.