• TotalEnergies will distribute 200,000 improved cookstoves in Rwanda.

• The project will generate carbon credits certified by VERRA.

• Rwanda targets universal clean cooking access by 2030.

TotalEnergies announced on Thursday, November 13 a partnership with DelAgua, a social enterprise, to distribute 200,000 improved cookstoves in Rwanda. The initiative is expected to reach more than 800,000 people in rural areas and avoid over 2.5 million tons of CO₂ emissions over ten years.

The project will generate carbon credits certified by VERRA, which TotalEnergies plans to purchase. The company intends to use these credits from 2030 to offset part of its residual scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, which cover direct emissions and indirect emissions linked to electricity consumption and heating networks.

In Rwanda, the announcement aligns with efforts to expand access to clean cooking solutions. The country aims for universal access by 2030, relying in part on private initiatives. One ongoing program with Bboxx plans to distribute 50,000 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) kits to low-income households through a pay-as-you-go model.

Across the continent, recent developments show that clean cooking and carbon credits are advancing together. The Spark Africa Fund, for example, recently committed $6.4 million in Côte d’Ivoire and $1.23 million in Ghana to support LPG, improved stove distribution, and local equipment production.

Several countries are also making progress in linking clean cooking projects to climate mechanisms. In Malawi, a program led by Hestian has generated more than 1.5 million carbon credits recognized as eligible under the CORSIA mechanism. In Ghana, transferable credits from improved cookstoves have been sold to Switzerland under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Despite this momentum, access to clean cooking remains limited across Africa. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the number of people without access has continued to rise in sub-Saharan Africa, reaching about 1 billion today, or nearly four out of five households.