It’s time to revisit the role of charcoal.
Today, an estimated 195 million people in Africa rely on charcoal as their primary fuel, with 200 million more using it as a secondary fuel1. While fuelwood use is projected to gradually decline, the population using charcoal as a primary fuel is
projected to double before 2050, despite significant investment and donor emphasis on alternatives like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity2. It is therefore time to revisit the role of charcoal in energy transitions.