Household Energy Transition and Environmental Security: Strategies for Scaling Up Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Adoption in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

The continued use of charcoal and firewood as the main household cooking fuel is problematic both in the environment and public health as the region of Dar es Salaam is rapidly urbanising. Although household uptake of LPG is relatively low, the government's efforts to encourage the use of clean cooking technologies are having only a limited impact, resulting in deforestation, indoor air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing inspiration from the Energy ladder theory and the Theory of Technology Acceptance (TAM), the following issues were identified as a means of improving the adoption of household LPG to boost environmental security in the city of Dar es Salaam. A mixed methodology research was adopted and took a stratified random sampling of 400 households and 18 key informants, officials from the Ministry of Energy, FPG merchants and community leaders. The data obtained were quantitative, which were analysed with descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression in SPSS Version 29, and qualitative data, which were analysed thematically. Household LPG adoption was associated with a regression model, which was statistically significant (χ² = 81.64, p < 0.001) and accounted for 47% of the variation in household LPG adoption. The results showed that 10.4% of the respondents were familiar with the LPG policy of the government. LPG affordability emerged as the strongest predictor of adoption (β = 0.91, OR = 2.48, p < 0.001), followed by proximity to refill stations (β = 0.84, OR = 2.32, p < 0.001) and policy awareness (β = 0.68, OR = 1.97, p = 0.001). Also, public awareness campaigns, the participation of government and the private sector and policy enforcement played significant roles in boosting the adoption of LPGs by households (p < 0.05). The results validate the Energy Ladder Theory which indicates that affordability and infrastructure are important in influencing adoption and TAM is important because of the role of policy awareness and perceived benefits. The study findings call for an appropriation of financial, institutional, infrastructural and behavioural interventions as key enabling tools for fast-tracking clean cooking transitions and improving long-term environmental security in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Household Energy Transition, Environmental Security, Energy Ladder Theory, Technology Acceptance Model, Binary Logistic Regression, Tanzania

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