South Africa has achieved a significant milestone in its clean energy transition through the G20 Clean Cooking Legacy Programme, a global initiative that united all G20 member states behind the goal of universal access to sustainable energy.
Working under the leadership of the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE), the Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) and Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Eskom) were among the key national institutions that helped conceptualise, co-ordinate and deliver the G20 Clean Cooking outcome. This was the only Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) negotiated outcome endorsed by all G20 member states at the G20 Energy Ministerial held on 10 October 2025.
Mpho Mookapele, was tasked to lead South Africa’s Clean Cooking outcome under the G20 ETWG. Working alongside officials from Eskom, the International Energy Agency (IEA), EWSETA through its Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Executive, Teslim Mohammed Yusuf, helped coordinate the development of the “ Voluntary Infrastructure Investment Action Plan to Accelerate the Deployment of Clean Cooking Solutions and launch the Clean Cooking Legacy Programme.
“This achievement shows what can be accomplished when technical expertise, policy alignment and skills development work together,” said Mookapele.
“Clean cooking is not just an energy intervention. It is about health, dignity and economic opportunity. Through this collaboration, South Africa has demonstrated its ability to develop solutions that serve people and the planet.”
The Clean Cooking Legacy Programme gives practical expression to the theme of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.” It aims to expand access to clean cooking solutions in schools, households and communities while creating new skills and enterprise opportunities for women and youth in the energy sector.
The programme was officially launched in KwaZamokhuhle, Mpumalanga, on 4 October 2025, marking the start of a national rollout. The KwaZamokhuhle project demonstrates how clean energy innovation can transform communities. A last-mile LPG distribution box with holding capacity of five tons of LPG will also be established in the community, five schools were retrofitted with high-pressure liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cooking systems unlocking new job and entrepreneurship opportunities for 20 young community members, who will receive accredited skills development and training.
From 2026, the G20 Clean Cooking Legacy Programme will extend into the Eskom’s Air Quality Offset initiative before scaling nationally to all provinces and beyond the borders of South Africa. This aligns with South Africa’s Just Energy Transition, Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and the aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The G20 endorsement of the Clean Cooking outcome underscores the alignment of global priorities with local realities, demonstrating Africa’s growing influence in shaping the international clean energy agenda.
The G20 clean cooking initiative also aligns with EWSETA’s current strategy, which focuses on building a skills base required for low-carbon economy, strengthening collaboration between government and industry, and developing human capital essential to sustain South Africa’s energy transition. Through this work, EWSETA continues to position South Africa as a thought leader in the just energy transition and a key contributor to Africa’s clean energy future.
