In Brenda Obare’s Kibera kitchen, a blue flame once lit up for dinner. Now, her stove is often cold.

In Nairobi ’s vast Kibera settlement, she crouches over a charcoal burner, coaxing a smoky fire to cook for her family outside her tin-roofed home. Cooking gas is now too expensive and often unavailable; charcoal , however, is always there.

"We don’t have many options," she said. "You use what you can afford." Such stories are increasingly prevalent, a direct result of energy disruptions stemming from the Iran war.

While governments championed cleaner fuels like LPG for health and conservation, escalating costs are now eroding these advancements.

The repercussions extend beyond fuel pumps, affecting kitchens, forests, and wildlife habitats.…