Cooking smoke kills millions every year. Here’s what the world can do about that.
While from a health perspective all these options are better than cooking on open fires or traditional biomass stoves, there are differences between them with regards to their impact on the climate and local environment. While liquid petroleum gas is highly efficient and emits less carbon dioxide than biomass fuels – which are most often not renewed and drive local land degradation – it is a fossil fuel and hence unsustainable in the longer run. Biogas and bio-ethanol fuels are also efficient, clean burning and theoretically renewable, though they face challenges with storage and the amount of arable land needed to grow feedstocks that produce the fuel. This leaves highly efficient electric cooking appliances with the most potential for rapid deployment of clean and low-carbon cooking solutions, particularly given the trend to invest in renewable power generation, both grid and off-grid.
How does clean cooking protect biodiversity?
Globally, more than half the trees that are cut down are used for firewood and charcoal. As these forests fall, they take with them habitats home to a huge array of plants, animals and other life forms. Switching to cleaner fuels – such as kerosene and natural gas – can help counter deforestation and an alarming rise in biodiversity loss.
How does clean cooking help prevent climate change?
The use of high-polluting cooking fuels, such as coal and firewood, produces as much planet-warming carbon dioxide as the aviation sector. Switching to cleaner appliances, such as electric stoves, can help lower those emissions, says John Christensen, Director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. This type of technology is increasingly within the reach of poor households in developing nations, he adds. Countries, including many in Africa, are rapidly expanding their power generation based on renewable energy at the same time companies are producing small, affordable solar power systems for households not connected to the electric grid. “The good news is that technological development and cost reductions have made electric cooking increasingly affordable,” says Christensen.
Is the world making progress on clean cooking?
Yes. Since 1990, the number of people mainly using polluting cooking fuels fell from more than half the global population to 29 per cent in 2021, which has led to a 36 per cent reduction in deaths from household air pollution since 2000. This is also due to efforts to extend grid electricity and to provide households with cleaner fuels and cleaner-burning cookstoves. Yet, access to clean energy is still limited in South Asia and parts of Africa, where hundreds of millions of people still rely on solid fuels for cooking and heating.
How can the world scale up clean cooking?
Household air pollution is still the most underinvested health and environmental problem in the world. That needs to change. Globally, US$10 billion a year is needed by 2030 to achieve universal access to clean cooking, according to the International Energy Agency. Current investments are just a fraction of that. “Given the technological advances and price reductions in solar-based cooking technologies, we need to ensure that there is affordable financing for households to purchase them,” Otto says. She also underscores the importance of highlighting clean cooking targets – particularly electric cooking goals – in countries’ nationally determined contributions, a series of climate-change-related pledges due in 2025.
The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies held annually on 7 September and facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), raises awareness about the importance of clean air for health, productivity, the economy and the environment. This year’s theme “Invest in #CleanAirNow” underscores the economic, environmental and health benefits of investing in clean air.
Distribution channels: Environment
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Submit your press release