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To Accelerate Clean Cooking Investments, Clear NDCs Are Critical

Many countries include clean cooking in their NDCs but provide limited clarity on the external support needed to turn commitments into action.

Clean cooking is a widely recognized climate solution. Dozens of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) include clean cooking measures in their national climate plans, especially in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa where most people lack access to modern stoves and fuels. Incorporating clean cooking transitions into 鈥� countries鈥� climate commitments under the Paris Agreement 鈥� is a critical step, but it does not, on its own, guarantee action.

According to 日本av无码鈥檚 new Clean Cooking NDC Tracker, 75% of 131 LMICs (98 countries) include clean cooking-specific or broader household energy measures in their NDCs.

The next question is: How are those measures framed, and do they provide a clear enough signal to mobilize the finance needed to expand access to clean cooking?

One useful signal is . Conditional NDC measures are climate actions that a country commits to achieving only if it receives external support, such as international finance, technology transfer, or capacity building. In contrast, unconditional measures are those that a country expects to achieve using its own resources. Countries are not required to specify which measures of their NDC are conditional or unconditional, but many use this distinction to communicate where external support could enable more ambitious targets.^1,2

New analysis using data from the shows that, among the 98 countries that include clean cooking-specific or broader household energy measures in their NDCs, the majority (58%) do not specify whether any of those measures require external support. Among the countries that do specify conditionality for at least one of their clean cooking or household energy measures, the vast majority (38 of 41 countries) include at least one measure that depends on external support (see the regional breakdown in the table below).

Note: This analysis focuses on whether conditionality is specified for clean cooking-specific or broader household energy measures. Some NDCs specify conditionality at the economy-wide, target, or portfolio level, but do not identify whether individual clean cooking or household energy measures are conditional or unconditional. The 鈥渁t least one conditional measure鈥� category does not mean that all clean cooking or household energy measures in that country鈥檚 NDC are conditional. Countries may include a mix of conditional, unconditional, and/or non-specified measures.

Specifying conditionality matters because clean cooking continues to face a significant financing gap. Despite its public health, climate, gender equity, and economic development benefits, annual investment in clean cooking is around USD 2.5 billion. Achieving universal clean cooking access by 2030 would require this to rise to approximately USD 8 billion annually, or around USD 60 billion cumulatively, with Africa accounting for nearly half of annual investment needs.⁶

Grants, donor funding, and public investment all remain essential, but there is also a significant role the private sector can play in accelerating clean cooking transitions. One potential source of external private sector funding is , which can help countries attract international investment through carbon markets. However, participation in Article 6 carbon crediting mechanisms requires careful planning, especially for countries intending to sell carbon credits.

When a country authorizes Article 6 carbon credits to be sold internationally, it needs to apply a 鈥渃orresponding adjustment鈥� to avoid double counting. This means that the transferred emission reductions cannot also be counted toward the selling country鈥檚 own climate goals under its NDC. As a result, countries need to carefully consider which climate mitigation activities they are willing to authorize for international transfer of carbon credits, and which they may need to reserve to meet their own NDC targets.

If a country allows too many credits to be sold internationally, especially from lower-cost activities, it could become harder or more expensive to meet its own NDC commitments. To manage this risk, countries selling credits may limit Article 6 trades to certain sectors. For example, carbon trades may be restricted to activities within conditional NDC targets 鈥� that is, those that are unlikely to happen without external support 鈥� while activities linked to unconditional targets may be reserved for domestic implementation.²

Recent 聽highlights how the structure of an NDC can influence how and whether a country trades carbon credits through Article 6 to support clean cooking projects. Ghana provides a useful example of how an NDC and a complementary carbon market framework can work together. Under its ⁵ Ghana does not authorize Article 6 carbon credit exports from activities associated with the unconditional programs in its NDC, such as promoting energy-efficient light bulbs in homes and switching from oil to gas in thermal power plants. Instead, Ghana may authorize the international sale of credits from sectors covered by its conditional targets, or from activities outside its NDC but within its National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.^2,5 By clearly delineating these parameters, governments can manage the risk of overselling credits while giving project developers, buyers, and implementation partners a stronger signal about where carbon finance may play a supporting role.

Ghana鈥檚 case also illustrates why NDCs should be read alongside other policy and implementation documents, such as national carbon market frameworks. Ghana鈥檚 NDC states broadly that 25 of its 34 mitigation programs depend on external support, while nine are expected to be achieved using domestic resources. Ghana鈥檚 complementary carbon market framework provides further detail on how individual activities relate to these categories, including the measure to 鈥渆xpand the adoption of market-based cleaner cooking solutions.鈥� Under the framework, improved biomass and LPG cookstoves are listed under the conditional category, indicating that carbon finance may support eligible clean cooking activities, subject to Ghana鈥檚 authorization processes and other applicable requirements, which is not indicated in the NDC itself.

Ghana鈥檚 example points to a broadly applicable takeaway: For countries preparing or updating NDCs, clearly indicating whether clean cooking measures require external support can make those commitments easier to finance and implement. Where Article 6 may play a role, this clarity can also help signal which activities may be eligible for international carbon finance. Ideally, NDCs should provide enough detail on their own for readers to understand how clean cooking commitments are expected to be financed and delivered. Where some of that detail is provided in separate documents, including carbon market frameworks, energy plans, clean cooking strategies, or implementation plans, those documents should be clearly aligned and cross-referenced in the NDC. For those working to support clean cooking implementation, such as project developers and donors, this means NDCs are an essential starting point, but they may need to be read alongside related policy documents to understand the full implementation and financing picture.

As Molly Brown, Director of Carbon Strategy at BURN, notes, 鈥淐arbon markets have already proven to be an important source of funding for clean cooking projects, helping to drive down costs for consumers, grow operations, and make clean cooking more accessible. Article 6 carbon markets could provide a similar opportunity, if a government decides it makes sense within its national climate strategy. Clear NDCs and related policy frameworks really matter because they signal to investors that the country is ready for international carbon finance and provide assurance to project developers that emission reductions generated by clean cooking may be eligible for export.鈥�

As countries revise their NDCs or develop implementation plans for them, they can strengthen their clean cooking commitments by clarifying whether these measures depend on external support. This does not mean that every clean cooking measure should be listed as conditional. Rather, it points to the importance of clarifying how clean cooking measures will be financed and implemented, whether Article 6 may play a role, and how these measures fit with other national policies.

To find out more about which countries provide details on the conditionality of clean cooking measures in their NDCs, visit the or download the full spreadsheet.

For more information, please contact the Clean Cooking and Climate Consortium (4C) at [email protected]. We would appreciate hearing examples of other links between NDCs, Article 6, and clean cooking that you are seeing in practice!

Sources:

¹ UNDP (November 2025).

² Hamrick, K., Myers, K., and Granziera, B. The Nature Conservancy.

³ Clean Cooking Alliance (April 2026). Clean Cooking NDC Tracker: Summary of Results.

⁴ Clements, A. (October 2025). Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS).

⁵ (December 2022).

⁶ IEA (2023).