Burning LPG emits about 50% less carbon than charcoal and 20% less than heating oil, and switching to the gas is central to Nigeria’s carbon reduction plans
People work during the production of charcoal in Maiduguri, Nigeria. File photo: REUTERS/AFOLABI SOTUNDENigerians have been lining up to buy Adunni Abdul’s moimoi — black-eyed peas steamed in leaves — for more than a decade in the vast tech accessories market in Lagos. Five years ago, she ditched the smoke that came with it; now it is back.
Burning LPG emits about 50% less carbon than charcoal, and 20% less than heating oil, and switching to the gas is a central plank of carbon reduction plans of Africa’s most populous nation, where more than 200-million people live. Nigeria's LPG use faltered in 2020 after nearly 10 years of growth, according to World LPG Association data. In 2018, only about 5% of Nigerians used LPG for cooking, while 73% relied on charcoal or biomass like wood, according to the latest figures from the International Energy Agency.
Despite having extensive gas reserves, Nigeria lacks the infrastructure to exploit much of it, and burns about 400-million cubic feet of gas as waste every year.