WASHINGTON (PRWEB) August 05, 2020

The Clean Cooking Alliance (Alliance) today welcomed three new members to its Leadership Council, a group of high-level advocates working with the Alliance to ensure that no one’s life is limited by how they cook.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Co-Chair of UN-Energy; Koen Peters, Executive Director of GOGLA; and Chebet Lesan, Founder and CEO of BrightGreen Renewable Energy, Ltd., and 2018 Clean Cooking Alliance Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, will join the Leadership Council, while also becoming part of a newly created Advisory Committee, a smaller group of leaders across private, public, and nonprofit sectors who will provide strategic counsel to the Alliance.

“As we accelerate the sprint to 2030 and our collective efforts to achieve universal access to clean cooking, I am humbled by the continued support of our Leadership Council,” said Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Alliance. “I am also energized by the newly formed Advisory Committee and look forward to our members applying their unique skill sets and contributions to help shape the direction of the Alliance and the clean cooking sector.”

“Just under three billion people currently lack access to clean cooking, exposing them to household air pollution that significantly increases their vulnerability to respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 and pneumonia,” said SEforALL’s Ogunbiyi. “Taking measures to increase access to clean cooking fuel and technologies is now more critical than ever. Clean cooking is critical to the success of Sustainable Development Goal 7, and why I’m honored to join the Alliance in working toward achieving universal clean cooking access to meet 2030 targets.”

As an initiative hosted by the United Nations Foundation, the Alliance is governed by the UN Foundation Board of Directors. The Advisory Committee will serve as a supplementary governance structure, offering input and ideas to Alliance leadership and representing a diverse range of viewpoints critical to advancing partnerships, innovation, and impact in the clean cooking sector.

The current Alliance Leadership Council includes:

• Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State; Honorary Chair of the Leadership Council
• Andrew Axelrod,* Chief Operating Officer of the UN Foundation
• Kris M. Balderston,* President of Balderston Strategic Partnerships
• António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; former Prime Minister of Portugal
• Chebet Lesan,* Founder and CEO of BrightGreen Renewable Energy, Ltd.; 2018 Clean Cooking Alliance Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
• Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Ghana
• Wanjira Mathai, Vice President and Regional Director for Africa at WRI; Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation
• Gina McCarthy, former Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Damilola Ogunbiyi,* CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All; Co-Chair of UN-Energy
• Juan Carlos Paiz, Co-Founder and President of Pani-Fresh
• Koen Peters,* Executive Director of GOGLA
• Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland; President of the Mary-Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
• Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Senator of Kwara Central, Nigeria
• Wang Shi, Founder and Honorable Chairman of China Vanke; President of China Vanke Foundation
• Dymphna van der Lans,* CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance

*Members of the Alliance Advisory Committee

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