What is our assessment?

Electric cooking equipment such as electric resistance stoves, induction stoves, and electric ovens can replace fuel-burning cooking equipment and reduce cooking-related GHG emissions, especially in regions with low-emission electricity grids. Cooking with electricity has significant health, safety, and energy efficiency benefits but cost, reliable access to electricity, and cultural compatibility are barriers to adoption. The climate impact varies regionally and data limitations hinder a deeper analysis, so we will “Keep Watching” this potential climate solution.

What is it?

Using electricity for cooking instead of burning fuels such as liquid petroleum gas, natural gas, biogas, biomass, charcoal, coal, or kerosene reduces the emissions from burning fuels and can reduce emissions overall when powered by low-emissions electricity. The World Health Organization ([WHO], 2025b) estimated that 60% of the global population cooked with gas and 26% cooked with biomass in 2023, while only 8.4% used electricity. Natural gas is the most common fuel for gas cooking in countries where gas distribution infrastructure exists, while liquid petroleum gas is common in low- and middle-income countries (Kojima, 2021). Cooking with electricity typically involves single or multi-element electric resistance or induction cookstoves and electric ovens. The Improve Fuel-Burning Cooking Equipment solution focuses on the adoption of more efficient fueled cookstoves and the switch to cleaner fuels such as LPG as a stepping stone toward eventual electric cooking in low-income communities where reliable and affordable access to electricity is currently lacking (Couture & Jacobs, 2019). 

Does it work?

Cooking with electricity rather than fuels reduces emissions from cooking in areas with low grid emissions (Gould et al., 2023), and relies on well-established technologies. Burning fuels for cooking generates greenhouse gas emissions, and methane leaks from natural gas stoves also contribute to emissions (Lebel et al., 2022). Cooking with electricity can be two or more times more energy efficient than alternatives (Rao & Sagar, 2024). Furthermore, electric cooking equipment is widely available. However, the total emissions impact of shifting to electric cooking equipment will be limited because cooking is a minor contributor to total building energy use worldwide (IEA, 2025). 

Why are we excited?

Electric cooking can have significant benefits for health, safety, and energy use, with modern electric appliances growing in popularity among chefs. Electric cooking equipment also supports all-electric new developments and provides benefits in communities with mini-grids. Burning fuels for cooking contributes to household air pollution (Lebel et al., 2022), which is responsible for an estimated 2.9 million premature deaths per year (WHO, 2025a), and also generates poisonous carbon monoxide. Explosions can also result when fuel leaks from fuel-burning cooking equipment (Lebel et al., 2022). Electric cooking reduces or eliminates these health and safety risks because fuels are not used. Furthermore, electric cooking is more energy efficient (Gould et al., 2023), and therefore releases less unwanted heat to the kitchen area which can improve comfort and the need for air conditioning (Li et al., 2024; Luo et al., 2023). Modern induction cookstoves are gaining in popularity among chefs because they can heat food faster with better temperature control than alternatives (Hawking, 2025) and have the added advantage of being easy to clean. In new developments, electric cooking enables all-electric developments that avoid locking in new fossil-fuel infrastructure (Tan et al., 2022). In some regions in Africa, electric pressure cookers are also a promising solution for some cooking tasks because their lower energy needs make them easier to integrate into mini-grids (Efficiency for Access et al., 2020; Kweka et al., 2021). 

Why are we concerned?

Electric cooking adoption can be hampered by costs, unreliable access to electricity, and cultural preferences. In addition, net emissions can increase when used in areas with high grid emissions, and data for analysis are limited. In high-income countries, switching to electric cooking can trigger additional electrical upgrade costs (Pergantis et al., 2025). In low-income countries, up-front costs are a major barrier, as is reliable, safe, and affordable access to electricity (Das et al, 2025; IEA, 2024). An estimated 750 million people lack access to electricity worldwide, with more than 80% living in Africa (IEA, 2024). Households may also continue to use traditional cooking methods alongside electric appliances due to cultural preferences (Crentsil et al., 2025).The effectiveness of this solution varies regionally, with grid emissions factors, electrical equipment efficiency, and the fuel being substituted all playing a role in whether electric cooking provides net emissions benefits and the magnitude of those benefits. The biggest factor is the emissions due to the grid mix providing electricity, which varies regionally. Finally, a lack of data on the relative proportions of fuels in use today for cooking is a barrier to deeper analysis.