The discourse surrounding Uganda’s energy future recently gained significant momentum with the announcement by Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), regarding a potential government ban on charcoal use in Ugandan cities.
This statement, made in February 2025, signals a pivotal moment in the nation’s efforts to address pressing environmental and energy challenges. This proposed measure is not an isolated policy but rather an extension of President Yoweri Museveni’s Executive Order No. 3 of 2023, which prohibited charcoal burning and trade in specific northern and northeastern sub-regions, including Karamoja, Teso, Lango, Acholi, and West Nile. However, a key concern remains, is Uganda ready for a charcoal ban in cities, and how best should the transition to clean energy be handled?
At the heart of this policy drive is the undeniable link between escalating charcoal consumption and severe deforestation across Uganda. Notably, Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP, 2023) estimates that the country loses approximately 72,000 hectares (equivalent to 100,000 football pitches) of forest annually due to these fuel sources contributing to a 1.8 percent decline in forest cover annually. Similarly, there has been a steady increase in both charcoal production and consumption, rising from 21,000 Terajoules in 2000 to over 94,000 Terajoules in 2022[1] (FAOSTAT, 2024). Worse still, charcoal production and illegal logging among other reasons significantly affects Uganda’s forest management.[2] These statistics highlight that the link between charcoal use and environmental degradation is undeniable and necessitates action to be undertaken.
Charcoal as Black Gold in Uganda
Biomass, predominantly charcoal remains a primary cooking fuel and source of livelihood for a vast majority of Ugandan households. According to the Energy Policy Review (2023), over 55 percent of households rely on charcoal, while 35 percent use firewood. In Kampala alone, about 82 percent of the households use charcoal as their main cooking energy source. The 2021 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) report reveals that the primary charcoal production areas in Uganda are in the northern regions of the country, particularly in West Nile and Acholi (see Figure 1). From these areas, charcoal is transported southwards to major urban centres, including Kampala and Mbale, where demand is highest. This evidence supports the government’s strategic shift to extend the charcoal ban to urban centres, recognizing that curbing urban demand is crucial for mitigating deforestation in the rural production regions.
Why a Smooth Transition from Charcoal Remains Complex?
While the government’s resolve to curb charcoal use is clear, several hurdles could impede a smooth transition to cleaner energy alternatives. A primary concern is the affordability and reliability of electricity and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for many urban households. Despite an increase in installed electricity capacity, which surged from 1,268 megawatts in 2020 to 2,200 megawatts with the recent launch of the 600-megawatt Karuma hydropower plant,[3] electricity adoption and usage for cooking remain low (ETP, 2023). Additionally, the use of LPG for cooking remains low nationwide, with only 1.5 percent of households using it (EPR, 2023). Despite Uganda’s significant achievements in energy production, these have not yet translated into widespread, affordable cooking adoption.
Furthermore, the charcoal industry in Uganda supports thousands of livelihoods, including producers, traders, and transporters. An abrupt ban, like that previously imposed in Northern Uganda, risks job losses and social unrest without providing viable alternative livelihoods. Additionally, charcoal use is culturally ingrained, with many Ugandans preferring the taste of food cooked over charcoal, making behavioural change difficult. Without strict enforcement and viable alternatives, Uganda risks a rise of a black market, with illegal charcoal trade smuggling and bribery.[4] Kenya’s experience since 2017 serves as a cautionary example, where a charcoal ban forced the trade underground, fuelling smuggling, corruption, and cross-border illicit trade.[5]
To successfully navigate these complexities, the government should enforce the transition in a gradual and phased manner Instead of an outright abrupt ban. The introduction of gradual restrictions (including higher taxes on charcoal, limiting permits, and designating transition zones) should concurrently be supported with incentives to increase access to energy alternatives like electricity and LPG. Secondly, the government should launch comprehensive, people-centred campaigns through mass media, community outreaches, and public dialogues to chart a feasible, inclusive path for transitioning from charcoal. Lastly, there is need to empower local governments and environmental agencies, such as NEMA and NFA, with the capacity to monitor and prevent illegal charcoal production and trade, complementing the gradual regulatory approach.
References
Uganda Energy Transition Plan (ETP, 2023). Link to the document: https://memd.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/UgandaEnergyTransitionPlan-2023.pdf
Energy Policy Review (EPR, 2023). https://memd.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Uganda2023-Energy-Policy-Review.pdf
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (2021). The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.
[1] FAOSTAT (2025). https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/
[2] Fourth National Development Plant (NDPIV) https://parliamentwatch.ug/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PDF-FINAL-NDPIV-for-Parliament-Approval-13122024-1.pdf
[3] Karuma Hydro Power Station Overview. Link: https://www.uegcl.com/power-plants/karuma-hydropower-project/
[4] https://africanarguments.org/2024/10/an-ecological-war-is-going-on-uganda-charcoal-booms-despite-ban/
[5] https://issafrica.org/iss-today/kenyas-charcoal-bans-have-fuelled-a-smuggling-problem
Featured photo: Sacks of newly burned charcoal in Palaro, Gulu district, Uganda, February 13, 2019. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Liam Taylor