Kenya risks reversing gains made in curbing respiratory diseases and environmental degradation when low-income earners can no longer afford to buy cooking gas.
The lack of affordable alternatives is likely to fuel demand for charcoal among these households at a time the world is desperate to boost uptake of clean energy and reduce the use of kerosene and charcoal.
Indeed, it would be a shame for the country should more households revert to using dirty biomass fuel when President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged that Kenya would be Africa’s voice on climate change.
Mr Kenyatta also promised that the country would invest heavily in clean energy at the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. The prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have hit the highest since 2015 after the reintroduction of the 16 percent VAT tax from July 1 and a surge in global prices.
When the government removed the tax in 2016, LPG uptake more than doubled to 326,000 tonnes last year from 151,000 tonnes, highlighting the impact of removing the tax.
There is a need then to address the taxation and put in place policies that will cushion already burdened Kenyans and keep the country’s pledge in the climate change fight.
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/opinion-analysis/editorials/make-cooking-gas-affordable-3605618
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