The Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, has urged the public to embrace the cylinder recirculation model (CRM) policy to ensure safety and increase access to LPG to 50% by 2030.

According to him, the policy would ensure the existence of robust and standard health, safety and environmental practices in the production, marketing and consumption of LPG.

“What we need to know is that the CRM is here to curb our fear of gas being filled close to our homes,” he said.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid made the call on Friday at the launch of the Consumer Week Celebration in Takoradi in the Western Region on the theme: “LPG: Clean Cooking, Healthy Lifestyle”.

The Consumer Week Celebration is observed each year by the National Petroleum Authority as part of the Global Consumer Service Week celebration, to educate the public on their rights and responsibilities and how to safely use petroleum products.

The NPA Boss said LPG is a cleaner burning fuel that provides smoke-free indoor cooking and helps to reduce outdoor and urban air pollution.

“LPG produces 50% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal, 20% less CO2 than heating oil and 10-12% less CO2 than petrol. Gas (LPG) has been accepted as the most dependable transition fuel, especially in our homes. It provides health, environmental, and economic benefits, especially to our households,” he said.

Unfortunately, Dr. Abdul-Hamid said LPG uptake in the country was low, currently around 37%, and needed to be actively promoted.

That, he said, implied that a lot more of the consuming public continuously resort to the age-old charcoal or wood fuel method of cooking despite the enormous benefits of LPG as compared to wood fuel.

“We also need to commence action on addressing alternative livelihood for families that depend on the charcoal business for their livelihood to curb the onslaught on the already depleting forest cover”, he said.

Dr. Abdul-Hamid said the issue of safety had been high on the agenda of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government, and that had culminated in the introduction and implementation of the CRM.

He noted that the LPG-related accidents in homes were due to a lack of adherence to LPG safety precautions.

He added the NPA was equally concerned about these incidents hence the intensification of its public education on the safe use and handling of LPG.

The NPA Boss urged bulk storage haulage, retailing and domestic handlers of LPG to observe the LPG safety rules to reduce or possibly eliminate the accidents.

In his speech, a Deputy Minister of Energy, Andrew Egypa Mercer, said the timing of the promotional and sensitisation drive was significant, given the current debate about climate change with its associated environmental and health effects.

He said Ghana needed to play a leading role in discouraging any activity that hurts the environment, and affirmed the resolve of the Ministry of Energy to support the NPA and other allied institutions to save the environment.

The Western Regional Minister, Dr. Okyere Darko Mensah, urged the public to avoid complacency and familiarity but uphold the safety rules in dealing with LPG and all petroleum-related products.