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Demand for cooking fuels in a developing country: To what extent do taste and preferences matter?
Abstract
Overreliance on biomass energy, such as firewood and charcoal, for cooking in developing countries has contributed to high rates of deforestation and resulted in substantial indoor pollution, which has negatively impacted the health of many individuals. However, the effectiveness of public policies aimed at encouraging households to switch to cleaner fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene, hinges on the extent to which they are mentally committed to specific fuels. Using data on four cooking fuels (charcoal, firewood, LPG, and kerosene) from the Ghana living standards survey, we found strong evidence that the most preferred fuel is LPG, followed by charcoal, with kerosene the least preferred. In addition, with the exception of kerosene that has price-elastic demand, the price elasticities of demand for the fuel types examined are inelastic. This finding suggests the so-called fuel-ladder is not robust.
... Edwards and Langpap (2005) demonstrated that fuelwood in Guatemala is a normal commodity for low-income households but is an inferior commodity for a high-income household. Estimates by Akpalu et al. (2011) suggest that households preferred LPG, followed by charcoal, with kerosene being the least preferred. Besides, they viewed LPG as a necessity. ...
... For example, Farsi et al. (2007) in India and Jingchao and Kotani (2012) in China's Beijing found an inverse relationship between the price of LPG and its consumption. Other relevant works have found a negative correlation between fuelwood consumption and fuelwood prices (see, Akpalu et al., 2011;Démurger & Fournier, 2011;and Lee, 2013). However, the extent of the impact varies by product, year of usage, and country. ...
... However, the extent of the impact varies by product, year of usage, and country. For kerosene, Gupta and Köhlin (2006) and Akpalu et al. (2011) observed that in India and Ghana, respectively, demand is elastic relative to its price. Lay et al. (2013) observed that in Kenya kerosene prices negatively impact kerosene selection, although the impact was found to be insignificant. ...
... For instance, [24] in a cross-sectional analysis of the determinants of household fuel choice in Guatemala focused on the correlations between fuel choice and factors such as household expenditure, fuel price, household size, and higher education. Other studies in Ghana including those [17,19,20,25] have underscored the significance of income, access to infrastructure, location of households, energy supplies and social and demographic factors in LPG adoption. ...
... In Ghana, several studies have been carried to understand the determinants of household fuel choice fuels [17,19,20,25,28]. In ref. [17], the authors examined the determinants of transition to clean energy in Ghana using the Ghana Living Standard Survey round 7. ...
Cooking with solid fuels has been identified to pose health and environmental risks especially to women and children who bear the primary and heaviest burden of collecting firewood and cooking. While liquefied petroleum gas is recognized as a clean energy source that could alleviate the issues associated with solid fuels, empirical research has not extensively explored how women's involvement in the labour force and their power dynamics could promote the adoption of liquefied petroleum gas. This study addresses this gap by examining female labour force participation, power dynamics, and adoption of liquefied petroleum gas in Ghana using mixed-effect logistic regression model. The findings suggest that increasing women’s participation in the labour market increases the likelihood of adoption of liquefied petroleum gas as a cooking fuel by 2.5 times. However, married women with limited decision-making power in their households are less likely to adopt liquefied petroleum gas as a cooking fuel. Policy should be geared towards empowering women by giving them employable skills through training.
... According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) [4], out of the 53 Metric tons (Mt) of charcoal produced globally, 33.9 Mt or about 64% was produced and utilized in Africa; a very small proportion of charcoal produced in Africa is exported to European countries [5]. Rapid population, urbanisation and economic growth within the continent is set to raise the demand for charcoal [6][7][8][9][10]. In Kenya, for instance, demand for charcoal increased by 82% between 2001 and 2021 [11], and the demand trend is projected to continue [12,13]. ...
... Charcoal is strongly favoured by urban households due to its high energy content and the fact that it is less bulky than firewood and, therefore, easier to transport and store. Charcoal also burns with less smoke [9]. Recent studies have shown an increase in charcoal's popularity among rural households in Africa. ...
Woodfuel that is unsustainably sourced and inefficiently used results in negative environmental and health impacts. This study assessed charcoal use and resultant concentrations of indoor air pollutants (IAP) in an urban informal settlement while cooking with a Jikokoa stove (an improved branded charcoal stove) and medium and small-sized artisanal Kenya Ceramic Jikos (KCJs). Fuel stacking was prevalent with charcoal and kerosene being used by 25% of the studied households. Cooking with a Jikokoa stove reduced charcoal consumption by 6.4% and 26% compared to small and medium-sized KCJs, respectively. The small-sized KCJ reduced charcoal consumption by 21% compared to the medium-sized KCJ. The Jikokoa stove reduced concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) by 10% and 50% and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 6% and 77% compared to small-sized and medium-sized KCJs, respectively. The Jikokoa stove reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations by 15.6% compared to the medium-sized KCJ. The small-sized KCJ reduced CO and PM2.5 concentrations by 45% and 75%, respectively, compared to the medium-sized KCJ. In summary, small-sized KCJs are more effective than medium-sized ones, and Jikokoa stoves more effective than small-sized KCJs, making it the stove of choice. The more efficient charcoal stoves are, the more charcoal consumption and IAP can be reduced, mitigating environmental degradation, climate change and health problems associated with smoke in the kitchen. There is need for participatory research to scale improved stoves and upgrade local practices as they are cheaper and already embedded in the cooking culture.
... Cooking with such energy sources, particularly with firewood, has several drawbacks. From an environmental point of view, firewood harvesting causes degradation of forest ecosystems [4] and is a potential source of deforestation [5], especially in places where it is used for charcoal production [6]. Healthwise, the use of inefficient stoves and energy Solar 2023, 3 488 sources prone to inefficient combustion (particularly charcoal and firewood) potentiates health problems such as respiratory and cardiovascular illness due to the emission of particulate matter and gases such as carbon monoxide [5,7,8]. ...
... From an environmental point of view, firewood harvesting causes degradation of forest ecosystems [4] and is a potential source of deforestation [5], especially in places where it is used for charcoal production [6]. Healthwise, the use of inefficient stoves and energy Solar 2023, 3 488 sources prone to inefficient combustion (particularly charcoal and firewood) potentiates health problems such as respiratory and cardiovascular illness due to the emission of particulate matter and gases such as carbon monoxide [5,7,8]. Moreover, unlike the use of stoves powered by gases (liquified petroleum gas, natural gas or biogas), ethanol or electricity, even the use of efficient stoves powered with biomass is associated with health risks [9,10]. ...
The challenges associated with traditional cooking methods in African countries, particularly the use of firewood and charcoal, which have negative impacts on the environment, health and human and economic development and safety, are addressed in this work. Given the high annual solar irradiation on the African continent, photovoltaic-powered electric cooking alternatives, such as electric pressure cookers (EPCs), are identified as a potential efficient, clean and affordable cooking solution. This work focuses on the potential of standalone solar electric cookers for use in rural African locations, namely, if this type of solution can satisfy cooking demand. Surveys and experimental data from several households in two different countries (Rwanda and Kenya) were collected. Specifically, the researchers performed a survey regarding cooking habits and an experimental campaign to determine real energy consumption profiles of EPCs. The main results are analyzed and discussed in this work. An assessment of the solar power capability to directly supply the EPCs’ energy demand, as determined from the experimental data, is performed. The findings indicate that, for the most commonly prepared food types, using EPCs saves considerable time in comparison with traditional cooking methods. In Rwanda, time savings range from 55% to 84%, while in Kenya, the time saved varies from 9% to 64%. Results show that, even for scenarios with high installed solar capacity, storage solutions are required to enable the PV-powered EPC system to supply more than 50% of meal demand.
... Households have different preferences for various fuels. For example, kerosene is the least preferred fuel in Ghana since it is time-consuming to use and has less power than firewood (Akpalu et al., 2011). Kenyan households cook firewood saving foods, such as tea and porridge, and githeria popular and nutritious food that ideally reduces eating frequency (Waswa et al., 2020). ...
... Kenyan households cook firewood saving foods, such as tea and porridge, and githeria popular and nutritious food that ideally reduces eating frequency (Waswa et al., 2020). Also, food taste depends on fuel types used to cook it (Akpalu et al., 2011;Masera et al., 2000;Shankar et al., 2020;Winther, 2007). Finally, fuel stacking, including firewood, prevails because firewood resources are mostly available (Cruz et al., 2020) and its collection is seen as an integral part of social life (Louw et al., 2008;Mazzone et al., 2021). ...
This thesis comprises four empirical papers aimed at comprehending the interdependencies among climate change, scarcity of natural resources such as water and forests, human health, and households’ responses. Paper I investigates the impact of precipitation variability on households’ sanitation technology choices in Ethiopia. The findings indicate that increased precipitation variability causes households to abandon improved sanitation facilities in favor of unimproved sanitation systems. Paper II examines how local forest resource conditions affect households’ fuel choice in Uganda. The use of biobased fuels has detrimental effects on both human health and forests. The results show that, when compared to households in non-vegetated areas, those in more vegetated areas are less likely to depend on dirty biobased fuels like firewood and charcoal. A larger forest stock is associated with a greater likelihood of using a combination of clean and dirty fuels. Paper III analyzes the impacts of water scarcity, as measured by time spent collecting water, on diarrhea prevalence and the purchase of health insurance in Ethiopia. Results show that water scarcity has a significant and positive impact on both. Finally, paper IV scrutinizes the effects of seasonal temperature on seasonal farm labor market outcomes in Ethiopia. The main findings show that rising temperatures reduce the number of hired farm labor days and wage payments during planting, harvesting, and whole agricultural season.
... Critical assessment Price -0.13 -0.67 Income 2.14 2.16 1929-2006 Review Price -0.16 Income 1.23 (Labandeira, et al., 2017) 1990-2016 Review Price -0.15 -0.44 (Goodwin, et al., 2004) 1929 (Pindyck, 1979) سال در همكاران 1۹۹۹ (Koshal, et al., 1999) (Mehra & Datt, 2015) 2011 G20 Price ---1.02 (Akpalu, et al., 2011) 1998-1999 Ghana Price ---8.90 ...
... -0.84 (Hughes, et al., 2008(Hughes, et al., ) 1975(Hughes, et al., -1980 (Koshal, et al., 1999) 1957-1992 Indonesia kerosene 0.29 0.78 -0.06 -0.17 (Pitt, 1985) 1978 kerosene --0.45 -1.02 (Pindyck, 1979(Pindyck, ) 1954(Pindyck, -1974(Pindyck, & 1960(Pindyck, -1974 Brazil and Mexico kerosene 0.10 0.15 -0.12 0.20 (Mehra & Datt, 2015) 2011 G20 LPG -------1.02 (Akpalu, et al., 2011) (Arvin, et al., 2015;Hartwig, 2010;Pinzón, 2018; به و مدل از تحقيق اين ايران، در پايدار توسعه غالب ديدگاه بررسي منظور ...
Today, sustainable development is one of the most reliable scientific and practical concepts for an excellent human society as the United Nations (a crucial global institution) has proposed different goals to achieve sustainable development and divided it into social, environment, and economic pillars. Since the 21st century, numerous studies have focused on sustainable development pillars from two perspectives of weak and strong sustainability. This study aims to systematically analyze the relationships among sustainable development pillars in Iran with internal and external approaches using environment, economy, and health. This research as a novelty investigates the relationships among the sustainable development pillars not only in Iran, but also in other regions and countries around the world from the modern perspective of “integrated sustainability”. To this end, this study uses various Econometric methods including simultaneous equations, Granger causality, Autoregressive Distributed Lags, and co- integration. In the external approach, this research introduces a new perspective of sustainability, called integrated sustainability, for the first time to the sustainability literature, which acknowledges spillover effect of the other regions and countries around the world as the most effective factor of sustainable development. The integrated sustainability perspective adds a new pillar of spillover effect as the fourth pillar of sustainability to its traditional three pillars. Also, this perspective considers the spillover effects as the most important pillar compared with the other three pillars of environment, social, and economy. The integrated sustainability perspective suggests reducing political and economic tensions between Iran and the other countries of the globe for benefiting from the spillover and synergies of the sustainable development in the other countries and regions and accelerating the sustainable development progress in Iran. In the internal approach, this study concentrates on the internal factors of sustainable development in Iran. The results show that the most serious challenges of sustainable development in Iran are related to the social, health, and transportation. This study confirms that the underdevelopment of the social area is for the lack of discrepancy, heterogenous and unbalanced networks of power in the government and sovereign. These factors not only cause corruption and injustice, but also threatens the mental health of the society via intensifying the disappointment, anger, and revenge feeling. Hence, this study suggests adopting some strategies to increase discrepancy, media freedom, and democratic institutions. In addition, the results imply that the most important challenges in the health area are related to the mental health and traffic death. The results of this study imply that rail and air transportation are the most consistent modes with sustainable development in Iran. One of the most important factors for the positive effect of these two transportation modes in the health area is their role in reducing the traffic death. Therefore, this research recommends the expansion of the rail and air transportation modes and development of the land and maritime transportation infrastructure to make them consistent with sustainable development characteristics. Furthermore, this study suggests to encourage and promote energy-saving technologies in the transportation sector which can be a more beneficial policy than the price policy in energy demand management.
... Household energy changing behaviour has been considered by numerous researchers and is now recognized as a vital tragedy for human society owing to its growing prevalence. Most studies have been done on the household energy utilization patterns and factors affecting the fuel choices using correlations (Akpalu et al., 2011;Arnold & Persson, 2003;Burger et al., 2015;Choumert-Nkolo et al., 2019;Louw et al., 2008;Masera et al., 2000;Musango, 2014;Mutua et al., 2012;Rahut et al., 2017;Rahut et al., 2019;Rahut et al., 2016;Ruiz-Mercado & Masera, 2015;van der Kroon, 2016; Van der Kroon et al., 2013). ...
... The transitions in energy source utilization reflect a change in households' energy consumption behavior (ECB) with the mode and direction of change depending on multiple factors, aside from scarcer biomass resources. These include factors, such as, household income or socio-economic status (Arnold & Persson, 2003;Joyeux & Ripple, 2007); household composition and size; gender; cultural preference (Akpalu et al., 2011;Clancy et al., 2012); education ; rural or urban residence (Karekezi et al., 2008;Pundo & Fraser, 2006); fuel use purpose; monetary or technological investment; reliability of fuel supply; fluctuations of energy prices (Burger et al., 2015) (on concept of ECB); (Choumert-Nkolo et al., 2019;Louw et al., 2008;Lusambo, 2016;Rahut et al., 2017;Rahut et al., 2016;Van der Kroon et al., 2013); pattern of stove use (Ruiz-Mercado & Masera, 2015) and accessibility (Musango, 2014;Rahut et al., 2019). ...
Clean, diversified and sustainable household energy sources for cooking is essential in order to maintain worthy health for women and children and also improving the energy security of people in the developing countries. Yet, the understanding of household energy dynamics and information remains unclear. This necessitates investigation of transition pathways towards diversification, sustainable and modern household energies. The main objective of this research was to model household energy utilization, changing behaviours and diversification using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The specific objectives included: determinants of household energy utilization and changing behaviours; the effects of renewable energy and accessibility on energy utilization, changing behaviour and household diversification of energy sources and finally modeling of the effects of moderators and mediators on the household energy sources diversification. The research was carried out in the counties of Bungoma and Uasin Gishu. Random sampling technique was used to select 640 households from a target household of 663,739 and data was collected using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using AMOS version 23 to achieve the first three objectives. Bootstrapping method was utilized to validate mediation and moderation models. The results showed that firewood is still the most common energy resource used for cooking in both rural and peri urban areas as evidenced by responses of 87.5% and 72.4%, respectively. The use of LPG (26 to 42%), charcoal (39.4% to 53.8%) and kerosene (14.3% to 17.3%) for cooking was found to increase as one moves from rural to peri-urban and vice versa for agricultural residues (12.3% to 5.3%). Biogas uptake still represents a small fraction (11.4 to 14.6%) of the energy mix at local level. The use of solar for lighting showed reduction as one move from rural to peri urban (44.8% to 39.6%) and vice versa for kerosene and electricity. SEM analysis found that factors such as education level, income, residential status, peri urbanization, house size, house composition, age and gender of the household head influence the changing behaviours and diversification among households both for cooking and lighting. Biogas users realized time saving of 1hour 36 minutes on average per household daily with financial saving of KES 2,557 per month as compared to firewood users. In addition, biogas indicated negative association with the use of conventional household energy sources for cooking fuels. Consequently, accessibility increased household fuel utilization and diversification. Interestingly, LPG (Path coefficient () = 0.461, critical ratio (C.R) = 15.204) followed by biogas ( = 0.333, C.R = 11.738) revealed to be the most important contributor to household diversification. The mediating effects of peri urbanization improved the household utilization of charcoal ( = 0.01, C.R = 6.72) kerosene ( = 0.04), LPG ( = 0.01), and conversely for firewood ( = - 0.013, C.R = 8.72) and agricultural residues ( = - 0.01). With income as an independent variable and education as a moderator; number of cars ( = 0.21), peri urbanization ( = 0.01), household size ( = 0.0397), residential status ( = - 0.0396), and gender ( = - 0.104) revealed mediating effects on the household energy diversification. According to bootstrapping reliability test, the limit for Bollen-Stine bootstrap is < 0. 12. In conclusion, household attributes have direct, moderating and mediating effects on the household energy utilization, changing behaviour and diversification. This study showed that household energy changing behaviour and diversification in Kenya are affected by moderating and mediating factors such as peri urbanization, cars among others. This study puts forward the need for policymakers and energy planners in Kenya and other developing countries to improve accessibility (supply and distance) of sustainable fuels and create awareness about the harmful effect of using dirty fuel at early stage through education curriculum, seminars and workshops.
... Traditionally, energy poverty has been measured by a set of unidimensional indicators identifying, among other things, the nature and type of household and the energy source they use [7]. For example, Akpalu et al. [8], Mensah and Adu [9] and Karimu [10] examined households' choices of cooking fuel in Ghana. While these indicators have many advantages in terms of data collection, monitoring and commensurability, and are favored by the EU [11,12], they unfortunately do not capture the full scope of the problem and are not collected directly to assess energy poverty. ...
... (3) Arrears on utility bills: share of population at risk of poverty (below 60% of national median equivalised disposable income) having arrears on utility bills; (4) Arrears on utility bills: share of population having arrears on utility bills; (5) Expenditure on electricity, gas and other fuels as a proportion of total household expenditure; (6) Proportion of households whose share of energy expenditure in income is more than twice the national median share; (7) Share of households whose absolute energy expenditure is below half the national median; (8) Electricity prices for household consumers-average consumption band; (9) Gas prices for household consumers-average consumption band; (10) Gas prices for household consumers-lowest consumption band; (11) Share of population at risk of poverty (below 60% of national median equivalised disposable income) with leak, damp or rot in their dwelling; (12) Share of population with leak, damp or rot in their dwelling-total population; (13) Final energy consumption per square metre in the residential sector, climate corrected. ...
The purpose of the article is to analyse the level of energy poverty in the EU member states for the period 2010–2020. The research was carried out on the basis of the author’s Synthetic Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index created on the basis of the zero-unitarization method. The proposed index allowed for the integration of 4 out of 13 indicators provided for the study of energy poverty in the Recommendation of the European Commission 2020, and 1 selected by the authors. The assessment of changes in the level of energy poverty over time in 24 EU countries using the method used adds value compared to the assessment methods used so far in this area. Previous studies of energy poverty levels have focused on individual countries or small groups of countries. Rarely have such studies covered the majority of EU countries, and even more rarely have they been conducted over a long period of time. The study carried out showed significant differences in energy poverty levels among EU members. Results obtained not only reflect the progress of member countries in reducing energy poverty, but also allow for a discussion on future approaches regarding its reduction.
... Households have different preferences for various fuels. For example, kerosene is the least preferred fuel in Ghana since it is time-consuming to use and has less power than firewood (Akpalu et al., 2011). Kenyan households cook firewood saving foods, such as tea and porridge, and githeria popular and nutritious food that ideally reduces eating frequency (Waswa et al., 2020). ...
... Kenyan households cook firewood saving foods, such as tea and porridge, and githeria popular and nutritious food that ideally reduces eating frequency (Waswa et al., 2020). Also, food taste depends on fuel types used to cook it (Akpalu et al., 2011;Masera et al., 2000;Shankar et al., 2020;Winther, 2007). Finally, fuel stacking, including firewood, prevails because firewood resources are mostly available (Cruz et al., 2020) and its collection is seen as an integral part of social life (Louw et al., 2008;Mazzone et al., 2021). ...
In this study, we investigate how households' choice of energy source is influenced by the status of the local forest resource. We assume that households choose between clean fuels (e.g., kerosene, LPG, solar, and electricity), dirty biobased fuels (e.g., firewood, animal dung, crop residues, and charcoal), and mixed fuels. We integrate socioeconomic data with high-resolution satellite data on forest conditions from the Uganda National Panel Survey. The findings from a random-effects multinomial logit model indicate that households in vegetated areas are 6–7% less likely to rely solely on dirty biobased fuels, and 6–8% more likely to use mixed fuels, compared to those in non-vegetated areas. A larger forest stock is more strongly associated with lower use of firewood than charcoal. A possible explanation for the findings is the presence of policies for forest conservation and enhanced forest property rights, which improve forest conditions and limit opportunities to collect firewood. Given households' dependence on forest-based fuels, such policies could need to be modified to secure households’ access to these fuels.
... For example, Mensah and Adu (2015) demonstrate that the energy ladder idea is oversimplified since it implies that moving up the ladder based on wealth requires a full transition from conventional to greener energy. However, Akpalu et al. (2011) observe that families may choose certain energy sources independent of their financial situation. As a result, they might not switch from biomass to transitional fuels like kerosene and then to more efficient fuels like gas and electricity when their condition improves. ...
Access to clean and efficient energy is acknowledged as a key prerequisite for sustainable development and as the most reliable way to achieve environmental sustainability. However, many people in sub-Saharan Africa continue to cook with solid fuels, which has a severe effect on the environment, health and living standards. The current research investigates the complex relationships between demographic factors (education, household size, and gender) and cooking fuel choice in Ghana by applying a multinomial logit model to the Ghana Living Standard Survey. While the influence of basic, secondary, and tertiary education on modern energy choice remains consistent across household sizes for male-headed households, secondary and tertiary education positively influenced transitional energy choice in male-headed households with larger household sizes compared to smaller ones. However, the results indicate that the effects of secondary and tertiary education on traditional energy choice are weaker for male-headed households with larger family sizes than smaller ones. Moreover, while age, access to radio, and electricity influenced cooking fuel choices, income and urbanisation positively influenced transitional and modern energies, with unemployed, self-employed, house ownership, forest, and savannah zones having negative effects on transitional and modern energies compared to traditional energy. The findings suggest that investigating the nuanced relationships between education, household size, gender, and energy choice may yield valuable insights for policies that increase access to clean cooking fuels.
... For instance, [24] in a cross-sectional analysis of the determinants of household fuel choice in Guatemala focused on the correlations between fuel choice and factors such as household expenditure, fuel price, household size, and higher education. Other studies in Ghana including those [17,19,20,25] have underscored the significance of income, access to infrastructure, location of households, energy supplies and social and demographic factors in LPG adoption. ...
Cooking with solid fuels has been identified to pose health and environmental risks especially to women and children who bear the primary and heaviest burden of collecting firewood and cooking. While liquefied petroleum gas is recognized as a clean energy source that could alleviate the issues associated with solid fuels, empirical research has not extensively explored how women's involvement in the labour force and their power dynamics could promote the adoption of liquefied petroleum gas. This study addresses this gap by examining female labour force participation, power dynamics, and adoption of liquefied petroleum gas in Ghana using mixed-effect logistic regression model. The findings suggest that increasing women’s participation in the labour market increases the likelihood of adoption of liquefied petroleum gas as a cooking fuel by 2.5 times. However, married women with limited decision-making power in their households are less likely to adopt liquefied petroleum gas as a cooking fuel. Policy should be geared towards empowering women by giving them employable skills through training.
... Charcoal has several merits that make it attractive for heating and cooking. Compared with firewood, it has higher energy content, not bulky, durable, and more accessible and burns more cleanly [Akpalu et al., 2011]. Charcoal is readily available, cheap and sells at a stable cost that meets daily household cook as compared to modern alternative fuels (LPG) [Ellegard and Nordstrom, 2003]. ...
... In India, 49% of households use fuelwood as their primary fuel for cooking (Khanwilkar et al. 2021). In developing countries, including India, fuelwood is the primary and most important source of traditional domestic energy used for cooking, heating, and other purposes (Akpalu et al., 2011;Foundation, 2010;Singh et al., 2021). The demand for fuelwood has grown much faster than its supply. ...
The domestic usage of fuelwood as the primary energy source has created considerable deforestation in North East India. The extraction of most fuel wood from wood is one of the principal causes of disturbance to the native forest flora of north east India. In this study, scientific journals, edited books, and other scientific databases were studied to examine fuelwood consumption trends in the North East India. A total of 162 plant species from 53 families were utilized as fuel by the natives of the region of seven sister states, along with Sikkim, according to a review of the relevant literature. Depending on their local availability, different plant species have been used as fuels in diverse locations. Schima wallichi, A. procera, and Toona ciliata were the most profound species reported in scientific literature. The FVI ranges from 22678 to 2.43 in the listed species. The accumulated data on fuelwood consumption patterns and fuelwood species utilized in the NEH could serve as a baseline for future studies and policy formulation, thus aiding in conserving the region's forest resources.
... The Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) is a nationally representative dataset collected by the Ghana Statistical Service with the support of the World Bank. Empirically, several studies have used the GLSS for household studies [91][92][93][94][95]. As an extension to the existing literature, this study focuses on the food, energy, and water resource sectors. ...
Water, energy, and food insecurity are significant challenges that affect both economies and households, particularly in developing countries. These resources have an effect on households wellbeing, businesses, and all sectors of the economy, making them critical to ensuring household well-being, which is frequently measured by quintile welfare. As a result, there has been a significant increase in interest in securitizing these resources in order to mitigate their negative effects on household’s wellbeing This study provides an empirical investigation of the determinants of water, energy, and food (WEF) security and the effect of water, energy, and food security on household well-being in Ghana. This study provides an empirical investigation of the determinants of water, energy, and food (WEF) security and the effect of water, energy, and food security on household well-being in Ghana. The study used a sample of 2,735 households from the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) Wave 7. We applied an instrumental variable probit, complementary log-log and ordered Probit estimation techniques for analysis. Empirical analysis reveals several important findings. Firstly, factors such as age, credit access, household location, employment status, and livestock ownership positively contribute to household water security, while remittances, water supply management, water bills, and water quantity have negative impacts. Secondly, age, marital status, household size, remittances, and livestock ownership significantly influence household energy security. Thirdly, marital status, household income, credit access, and household size are crucial determinants of household food security, with residence and region of household location exerting negative effects. Additionally, while water and energy security have a relatively lower impact on household well-being, food security emerges as a key driver in promoting household wellbeing. The study recommends that policymakers and stakeholders design and implement robust programs and interventions to sustain households’ water, energy, and food supply.
... In a broader context, the findings from Delhi can be generalized to other regions and countries with similar socio-economic and demographic characteristics (Smith et al., 2015). The dominance of fuel wood and dung cake as primary fuels, the preference for solid residential fuels due to taste, and the identification of hotspots with high fuel consumption are issues that resonate in many developing countries (Akpalu et al., 2011;Heltberg, 2005;Rahut et al., 2016). The energyladder hypothesis, which suggests a linear progression from traditional to modern fuels, may not always hold true, as observed in the Delhi study. ...
India aims to reduce pollution from solid residential fuel use and promote clean energy through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme launched in 2016. The scheme targeted below-poverty-line (BPL) families using traditional stoves by providing free LPG connections. BPL families in urban slums and village dwellers of Delhi are major users of solid residential fuel. This study investigates the overlying reasons by surveying ∼6500 households from ∼700 urban slums and villages and identifying high consumption areas and fuel use patterns. The urban slums and villages of Delhi reported a total usage of 0.415 Mt. residential fuels annually for the year 2019 (72 % fuelwood, 27 % dung cake, 0.002 % crop residue, and 0.001 % coal). An interrelation of household energy consumption patterns, socio-economic demographics, and kitchen characteristics is also presented in the study. The energy-ladder hypothesis was found to be validated in slums while the linearity of the hypothesis was contradicted in rural areas as the use of traditional stoves was driven by food preferences rather than economic constraints. Predictive models were developed to estimate residential fuel usage for space heating and water heating during winters, which are not reported by NSSO annual reports. The study also calculated the gross calorific values of biomass fuels to assess their energy content. This information aids in further understanding biomass combustion efficiency and the importance of transitioning to cleaner energy sources like LPG for sustainable practices. This study estimated an additional annual $10.04 million in Government aid is sufficient to minimize pollutant load emanating from residential fuel combustion by providing free LPG refills to economically weaker households. This action has the potential to reduce residential fuel usage for cooking significantly leading to a decrease in pollution levels across the megacity.
... Most of these deaths occur in developing countries including Nigeria and are majorly attributable to cooking and home heating with open fires using traditional kerosene stoves or solid fuels such as firewood or charcoal. 8,9 Other sources of indoor pollution in developing countries include smoke from nearby houses, burning of forests, fossil fuel, household waste; and tobacco smoke. 10 In some developing countries women use biomass as cooking fuel and those pregnant are therefore exposed to substances that may affect the foetus and result in spontaneous abortions, reduced birth weights, and also increase the incidence of perinatal mortality, as indoor air pollution has been revealed to have associations with those conditions. ...
Introduction: The nature of air indoors affects the quality of life and the general population's well-being and exposure to higher levels of ambient air pollution in pregnancy is linked to adverse birth outcomes. As majority of women spend most time working indoors, exposure to various pollutants may result in an increased risk of various respiratory ailments. This study assessed the level of knowledge, attitude, and determinants of Indoor air pollution (IAP) among pregnant women in Osogbo Metropolis.
Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design among 432 pregnant women in Osogbo metropolis via multistage sampling. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and analyses were done using IBM SPSS software version 20.0. The statistical level of significance was set at P<0.05.
Results: The respondents' mean age was 26 ± 5 years. More than three-quarters were aware of indoor air pollution. Correspondingly, about three-quarters were found to have adequate knowledge of indoor air pollution while the majority (89.4%) had positive attitude towards indoor air pollution. There was a significant relationship between respondent’s age and ethnicity as independent variables, and knowledge of indoor air pollution as a dependent variable (p=0.019 and p=0.024 respectively).
Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude towards indoor air pollution were good. However, the proportion with poor knowledge and negative attitudes cannot be overlooked particularly among pregnant women. Joint efforts from the citizens and the government to allocate more resources towards the provision of appropriate and affordable facilities to minimize indoor air pollution are recommended.
... The wood fuel is the main source of household energy in Sub-Sahara Africa (Zulu and Richardson, 2013). Wood fuel is used in the form of charcoal since charcoal is easy to transport and provide efficient energy (Akpalu et al., 2011). In Somalia, charcoal is a main source of household energy and is also one of the most important export item in the country. ...
Wood charcoal production is the main sources of energy both in urban and rural areas in Somalia. Besides, charcoal production is critical in terms of providing domestic consumption, and charcoal is one of the major export products. However, charcoal production is considered as main cause of land degradation which can lead to deforestation and soil loss, and reduction in bio-diversity. In this study, main information about charcoal production activities were given and their ecological effects were emphasized. Then, very high resolution imagery based method used to detect charcoal production sites on southern Somalia was presented and its results were discussed. The results from the reviewed study confirmed that very high resolution imagery highly effective on monitoring and detecting charcoal production sites. It was also indicated that charcoal production is expanding into new areas and accelerating the deforestation in the region. Therefore, specific strategies should be developed and implemented to prevent the impacts of charcoal production on forests and on environment in general in Somalia. Alternative job and renewable energy sources should be provided for the people who are dependable on charcoal production. Alternatively, in order to generate income based on forest products, local people should be informed about the production of non-wood forest products and necessary arrangements should be made to manage the process. Reforestation and afforestation, as key actions for the restoration of degraded forests, should be conducted throughout the country. For sustainable management of forest resources, forest management agency should be established and forest management regulations should be developed.
... Prior literature on drivers of improved and clean cooking energy access has largely focused on rural settings in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), where clean energy access is generally lowest [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], with much lesser evidence from urban areas [13][14][15][16][17]. However, clean cooking fuel use remains far from universal in many urban LMIC settings, and use of polluting fuels persists alongside high rates of electricity access and ample availability of a variety of alternative cooking fuels [1]. ...
Nearly 2.3 billion people lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies worldwide, representing a critical failure to achieve SDG7’s cooking energy access goal. In Sub-Saharan Africa, dependence on polluting cooking fuels is particularly high, resulting in considerable environmental, health, and time-related costs. Progress in the region has been greatest in urban areas, partly because incomes are higher and alternative fuels more widely available than in rural areas, but understanding of the dynamics of urban cooking energy transitions remains limited, and reasons for the divergent paths of different cities are unclear. Our primary objective is, therefore, to understand differences in the demand for several fuels among low-income households in two contrasting cities–Nairobi, where the transition is well advanced (N = 354), and Dar es Salaam, where progress has been slower (N = 1,100). We conducted a double-bounded, dichotomous choice contingent valuation experiment to elucidate how urban households would respond to changes in cooking fuels’ prices. Our analysis shows that fuel price responses vary across the income distribution and across these cities. Willingness to pay for the most commonly used cooking fuel in Nairobi–liquefied petroleum gas–is nearly twice that in Dar es Salaam, where more households prefer charcoal. In Dar es Salaam, low-income charcoal users appear especially entrenched in their cooking fuel choice. Our results have important implications for the effectiveness of different policy tools (e.g., bans, taxes, or clean fuel subsidies), since responses to pricing policies will depend on these varying price sensitivities, as well as targeting and the readiness of the supply chain (including policy enablers of supply) to meet increased demand. In conclusion, though policies are commonly designed at the national-level, policy-makers need to understand nuances in the local demand context very well when choosing instruments that best support energy transition among their most vulnerable citizens.
... Transition from traditional cooking with biomass to clean cooking is a persistent challenge in developing countries [1]. Lack of appropriate technology as alternative to traditional three-stone stoves, inadequate investment in energy generation and poor management of biomass resources have been highlighted as key factors perpetuating the dilemma to transition to clean cooking [2]. ...
Transition from cooking with traditional biomass to clean cooking is a persistent challenge in Malawi. The underlying technologies in clean cooking are improved cookstove. Improved cook stoves are designed to reduce fuel consumption per meal and to curb smoke emissions experienced in traditional three-stone cookstove. However, promotion adoption and utilisation of clean cooking requires coordinated policy and regulatory framework. This study analysed the Malawi policy regulatory framework on clean cooking by benchmarking with relevant literature. The following policy gaps were identified: (i) the lack of clear cookstove rating by Malawi Bureau of Standards; (ii) uncomplimentary policies and regulations in the energy and forestry sectors on clean cooking fuels and technologies; (iii) the lack of empirical data on adoption and utilisation of clean cooking technologies and fuels in Malawi; (iv) predicaments in adopting and using international standards for testing cookstoves; and (v) the value chain of improved cookstoves and other forms of clean cooking fuels and technologies that is not adequately analysed. Coordinated development and harmonious implementation of clean cooking regulations in the key sectors of energy and forestry can promote adoption and utilisation of clean cooking methods and technologies in Malawi.
... Other studies such as Hosier and Down (1987), Leach (1992), Sathaye and Tayle (1991), Smith et al., (1994), Reddy and Reddy (1994) provide evidence in support of these hypotheses. Nevertheless, criticism is often posed against the energy ladder hypothesis, in that it is too simple, and tends to assume away the existence of inter-fuel substations among households (Heltberg, 2004;Akpalu et al., 2011). ...
This paper examines patterns and drivers of energy choices for cooking and lighting in South Africa using the Statistics South African (StatSA, 2022) Census data at district municipality (districts) levels. Employing spatial and regression analysis, the findings show that electricity is the main source of energy for cooking across South Africa. However, there is a large swathe of the country covering districts, such as Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, eastern Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and northern Eastern Cape provinces, where wood is the predominantly used energy type for cooking. There is almost uniform use of gas for cooking across the country. Electricity is the main energy source for lighting in South Africa. It is followed by candles, likely explained by loadshedding, and surprisingly solar energy a distant third. In terms of drivers, dwelling types play statistically significant role in what energy type to use for cooking and lighting, albeit differently. In terms of lighting, formal dwelling is positively related to the choice of electricity and informal dwelling is related to the choice of electricity (negatively) and candles (positively) for lighting. The level of higher education, household size, and the dependency ratio have varied statistically significant roles in the choice of either energy type for cooking or lighting by formal, informal, and traditional dwellers. Relevant policy prescriptions that are needed to engender the country towards sustainable energy use, diversification of energy types from electricity to other renewable energy sources, such as solar, and reduction in over-dependency on the biomass energy sources, such as paraffin and wood, especially in rural and poor districts, are proposed.
... Other studies, such as [34,[36][37][38][39], provide evidence in support of these hypotheses. Nevertheless, criticism is often posed against the energy ladder hypothesis, in that it is too simple, and tends to assume away the existence of inter-fuel substations among households [35,40]. ...
This paper examines patterns and drivers of energy choices for cooking and lighting in South Africa using the Statistics South Africa Census data at the district municipality (districts) level. Employing spatial and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, the findings show that electricity is the main source of energy for cooking across South Africa. However, there is a large swathe of the country covering districts such as Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, eastern Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and northern Eastern Cape provinces where wood is the predominantly used energy type for cooking. There is almost uniform use of gas for cooking across the country. Electricity is the main energy source for lighting in South Africa. It is followed by candles, likely explained by loadshedding, and, surprisingly, solar energy a distant third. In terms of drivers, dwelling types play a statistically significant role in what energy type to use for cooking and lighting, albeit differently. In terms of lighting, formal dwelling is positively related to the choice of electricity and informal dwelling is related to the choice of electricity (negatively) and candles (positively) for lighting. The level of higher education, household size, and the dependency ratio have varied statistically significant roles in the choice of either energy type for cooking or lighting by formal, informal, and traditional dwellers. Relevant policy prescriptions that are needed to engender the country towards sustainable energy use, diversification of energy types from electricity produced from fossil fuels to other renewable energy sources such as solar, and reduction in over-dependency on the biomass energy sources such as paraffin and wood, especially in rural and poor districts, are proposed.
... Therefore, unlike the conventional linear model of fuel consumption pattern i.e. from traditional to transitional to modern cooking fuels in tandem with rising household income (Akpalu et al., 2011;Kroon et al., 2013;Masera et al., 2000), this study unveils a complex and habitat (rural/urban) specific fuel choice pattern with the objective to explore the established norms and highlights the need for nuanced strategies in promoting cleaner and sustainable cooking practices. In general, these variations indicate that household fuel choices are heterogeneous and dependent on multiple determinants to meet the demand (Kowsari & Zerriffi, 2011;Waleed & Mirza, 2022). ...
In the multifaceted spectrum of cooking fuel preferences, the household choices play a pivotal role in GHG emission. Hence, the present study explores the dynamics of consumption of varied cooking fuels and their corresponding carbon footprints among the Indian households. To achieve the goal, data were collected from 610 households of the Kalyani region of West Bengal using a semi-structured interview schedule. It was found that rural households emit higher CO2e (662.77 kg) annually than the urban (491.54 kg). Rural households predominantly rely on traditional-biomass (firewood/cow-dung) and transitional (kerosene) fuels while urban households use modern fuels largely, e.g. LPG and electricity. Fuel stacking behaviour was observed among the rural households. Regression analysis reveals that fuel choices and carbon footprints are impacted by a range of factors: income, standard of living, household size, education, etc. Hence, it can be inferred that cooking fuel consumption is multifactorial. To promote sustainability, future efforts should focus on the adoption of clean/green fuel, cost reduction, and raising awareness about efficient fuel use. Achieving sustainable cooking practices also requires strategies that address accessibility, affordability, poverty reduction, employment opportunities, and equitable resource access. Furthermore, harnessing solar energy for cooking/lighting may offer a promising avenue for sustainability.
... These figures underscore the persistent environmental implications associated with cooking practices despite transitioning away from specific fossil fuel sources [2]. The overconsumption of firewood has substantially exacerbated deforestation and environmental degradation in the Indonesian context [3]. ...
Cooking, a fundamental human necessity, frequently relies on environmentally harmful energy sources. Concentrated solar power offers a promising solution through solar cookers to address this issue. This study assesses a Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) solar cooker's performance with two reflector materials: chrome stickers and glass mirrors. The PTC-type solar cooker comprises essential components, including an absorber tube, a flexible conduit, and a spiral-shaped cooking container holder that accommodates a diverse range of cooking vessels. In the configuration of the PTC collector, reflectors fabricated from chrome stickers and glass mirrors are strategically employed to harness and concentrate solar radiation effectively. The absorber tube, crafted from copper, is filled with a heat-transfer fluid consisting of soya oil. Experimental investigations were conducted in a two-stage process, encompassing trials without any applied load and subsequently with varying loads. In the no-load experiments, alterations were made to the PTC collector's inclination angle, spanning the ranges of 15º, 20º, 25º, and 30º. In contrast, the load-bearing tests encompassed the assessment of the PTC solar cooker's performance under a diverse array of cooking scenarios, including boiling water, heating oil, frying eggs, and crisping crackers. The evaluated parameters encompassed key metrics such as incident solar radiation (Ir), ambient temperature (Ta), receiver temperature (Tr), fluid temperature (Tf), spiral furnace temperature (Tsf), and load temperature (To). Subsequently, the outcomes of the experiments were employed to determine the efficiency of the solar cooker. Analysis of the no-load test results indicates that the most favorable performance, as observed in the parameters Tr, Tf, and Tsf, is achieved at a collector inclination angle of 15º for both chrome sticker and glass mirror reflector materials. The solar cooker demonstrated commendable proficiency in boiling water, heating oil, frying eggs, and crisping crackers, accomplishing these tasks within a time frame ranging from 5 to 20 minutes. Notably, the solar cooker featuring the glass mirror reflector exhibited a superior thermal efficiency of 33.7%, surpassing the efficiency of the counterpart with the chrome sticker reflector, which registered an efficiency of 30.9%. These findings underscore the efficacy of the glass mirror reflector in harnessing solar energy for enhanced cooking performance within this solar cooker configuration.
... Improving food cooking conditions in rural developing settlements is a research area with great impact (Akpalu et al., 2011;Gitau et al., 2019). The high consumption of firewood causes the degradation of natural resources and the threat of ecosystems (Liu et al., 2008). ...
The research assessed waste-based briquettes consumption compared to conventional fuels in the Andes. Laboratory tests were conducted together with on-field analysis in Colquencha (Bolivia). The laboratory study shows that the performances of briquettes are better in terms of PM2.5 (933.4 ± 50.8 mg kg−1) and CO emissions (22.89 ± 2.40 g kg−1) compared to animal dung (6265.7 ± 1273.5 mgPM2.5 kg−1 and 48.10 ± 12.50 gCO kg−1), although the boiling time increased due to the lower fuel consumption rate and firepower. The social survey organized with 150 Bolivian citizens suggested that low-income households are not able to pay for an alternative fuel: about 40% would pay less than 4 USD per month, while methane use for cooking is positively correlated with the income level (r = 0.244, p < 0.05). On field analysis suggested that local cookstoves are not appropriate for briquettes combustion since indoor air pollution overcomes 30 ppm of CO and 10 mgPM2.5 m-3. On balance, local small manufactures can be the main target for selling waste-based briquettes to reduce shrubs and wood consumption. However, briquettes production costs seem not yet competitive to natural easy-to-obtain fuels (i.e., animal dung). The research encourages the use of cellulosic and biomass waste-based briquettes in the Andean area for cooking, heating, or manufacturing and strongly advises policy-makers to introduce economic incentives for the recovery of secondary raw materials.
... Another research results indicate that clean fuels are more part of a fuel combination than a complete substitute for traditional fuels (Heltberg, 2004;Heltberg, 2005). Several studies have also produced income elasticities, which show that LPG and electricity are necessities goods (Akpalu et al., 2011;Lee, 2013;Macauley et al., 1989). ...
There are differences in the choice of cooking fuel in Indonesian households. Some households still not yet used clean fuel for daily cooking, even though clean energy is crucial and included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study examines the influence of several factors on household's cooking fuel choice using SUSENAS data. This study is based on conceptual framework and theory on several determinant factors, including income, education level of the household head, and energy prices. The testing of the hypothesis used the probit methods. In the estimation results obtained, socioeconomic and demographic factors, namely income, education level of the household head, location of the household in urban areas, positively and significantly impacts the decision to choose clean fuel for cooking. Meanwhile, the price of clean fuel types such as LPG and city gas negatively and significantly impacts the decision to choose clean fuels for cooking in Indonesian households.Keywords: Demographic Factors; Socioeconomics Factors, Energy Prices; Cooking Fuel Choice, Probit
... Unsustainable wood harvesting and charcoal production is a major source of forest degradation, deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the region (FAO, 2017a). Charcoal is mainly used in urban areas since compared to firewood, charcoal has higher energy content, is less bulky and is easier to transport (Akpalu et al., 2011). While declining in other areas of the world, the total consumption of charcoal in SSA continues to increase (FAO, 2017b). ...
In Somalia's drylands, charcoal production is a major driver of forest degradation enabled by civil conflict and institutional weakness. Up to now, the extent and exact location of charcoal production has usually been estimated by visually detecting charcoal kilns on Very High Resolution (VHR) images. Taking advantage of the availability of a dataset of charcoal kilns delineated on VHR images by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) experts, we designed a computer vision (CV) approach to automatically identify charcoal kilns on VHR images. The methodology relies on a curated subset of the expert-labeled dataset and a collection of panchromatic and pan-sharpened multispectral Natural Color (RGB) VHR for the years 2018 and 2019. Kiln delineations paired with the VHR images are visually reviewed and used with a Faster R-CNN model, an object detection deep learning method. A two-stage methodology is used to train the best models for panchromatic and RGB images, respectively. The first stage uses a small number of high quality pairs to define the best parameters of the models while the second stage uses a larger set of pairs to fine tune the previous models. The results indicates that charcoal kilns are detected with a precision of 90% in panchromatic images and of 80% in RGB images. The models are then used to predict the presence of kilns over the available VHR images. Omission errors are prioritized over commission errors to mitigate the difficulty in detecting kilns in some specific situations. Comparison between the FAO expert kiln dataset and objects predicted by the CNN model is giving encouraging results. With a visual screening complementing the proposed workflow, CV can aid charcoal kiln monitoring in Somalia while alleviating manual work.
... Consumption of these solid forms of energy are widely acknowledged as aggregating atmospheric carbon emissions (Crutzen, 2016). Clean energy is important for human health, the environment, and socioeconomic development (Duflo et al., 2008;Akpalu et al., 2011). Dirty energy sources such as firewood and charcoal are used because they are easily accessible and cheap (Leach, 1992), and shifting to cleaner energy sources such as gas and electricity can be more expensive. ...
The natural environment is negatively impacted by the daily fuel use for domestic purposes, particularly in developing nations with large populations, such as India, where biomass is the primary source of fuel for household cooking. However, a greater understanding is needed about the trends, patterns, and factors affecting household energy consumption and choice in India over the past two decades. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data from the years 2005–2006, 2015–2016, and the most recent year 2019–21 are used in this study to empirically demonstrate that characteristics including gender, education, capital, social status, and geography have significant influence on a household's decision to use cleaner energy. The results report that homes in rural regions, the poorest and most impoverished households, those headed by women, and without formal education have been unable to switch to cleaner fuels such as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) over time. As the study suggests that increasing income levels and education can lead to a shift toward cleaner household energy consumption, policies promoting economic growth and education can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from household energy consumption. Thus, policies like subsidies in LPG and electricity shall explicitly aim to assist impoverished households and lower-income families in enhancing their accessibility and affordability options for cleaner energy sources. The research underscores the significance of directing efforts towards the economically disadvantaged segments of society, guaranteeing their access to more environmentally friendly energy sources.
... (20) Bailis et al. (2015) and (11) Bailis (2017) define sustainability in the context of wood fuelas achieving a balance between the annual wood harvest and regrowth. If the harvest exceeds the sustainable yield5 , it leads to the depletion of biomass stocks, degradation of forests, and ultimately, deforestation. They further explain that the production and consumption of wood fuel has also environmentally harmful consequences: They further explain that the production and consumption of wood fuel has also environmentally harmful consequences: The carbonization processes used to produce charcoal in kilns and the burning of firewood emit hazardous gases into the atmosphere contributing to air pollution and deteriorating human health. ...
... A contrary postulation, termed "fuel stacking", posits that as their wealth status improves (income level increases), rural residents may diversify their energy source base but not necessarily abandon traditional fuels (Chakrabarti & Handa, 2023;Lokonon, 2020;Nawaz & Iqbal, 2020). Again Akpalu et al. (2011) and Lokonon (2020) noted that prevailing energy prices and the availability of other energy sources affect the dynamism in usage patterns of biomass energy. ...
... The higher long-run income elasticity compared to the short-run estimates indicates that households are consuming at the limit they would need or that they would prioritize other consumption goods than energy (this is particularly true for very poor households). Our findings are confirmed by the works of Akpalu et al. [54], Mensah [47] and Mensah et al. [48]. ...
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is rapidly becoming a key part of Cameroon's energy mix, with enormous future potential. However, there are still many uncertainties about the extent of its potential market, which has so far often led to supply shortages. These shortages therefore constitute a major obstacle to the objective of promoting LPG as the main fuel in Cameroonian households. Accordingly, the short and long-run elasticities of LPG consumption in Cameroon are investigated in this work. This work uses annual time series data from 1994 to 2017. A basic model and four alternative specifications are used. Mid-run price and income elasticities of LPG consumption are found to be between −0.330 and −0.401, and, 0.159 and 0.569, respectively. Of all the five models, the error correction model is the most robust and the elasticities estimates reveal that price, income and urbanization are important determinants of LPG consumption in Cameroon. These results are consistent with those given by the other models, and in line with previous research on developing countries whose economic and demographic situation is similar to that of Cameroon. These results have serious implications on demand side management and calls for policy makers to promote widespread use of LPG especially in the savannah zone in order to reduce deforestation and overdependence on biomass.
... Several contributions exist in the literature on the determinants of the choice of cooking fuel. Some studies have used nationally representative samples for instance Paudel et al. (2018), Akpalu et al. (2011), Makonese et al. (2017 however, these studies are not specifically for the Nigerian case. Despite several studies that exist for Nigeria, they mostly focused on specific sections of the country. ...
Several factors determine a woman’s choice of cooking fuel type for her household. Since there are health effects to such decisions, it is consequential that households would take into consideration their health outcome experiences when making such choices. This study examined the determinants of household’s cooking energy choice. It examined whether such choices are influenced by health outcomes. A multinomial logit model was estimated, controlling for possible heterogeneity. Higher levels of household wealth index and education promote cleaner energy use such as electricity and gas rather than firewood, charcoal and other solid fuels in both urban and rural locations. Increasing household size reduced the likelihood of household’s use of electricity and gas rather than firewood, charcoal and other solid fuels. Richer households were generally more likely to use than poorer households. This was irrespective of whether they had zero child death or at least one child death experience. Thus, policy effort towards achieving energy transition and environmental quality should improve household wealth and women education.
... Although income plays an important role in cooking fuel choice, many still dispute it. According to Akpalu et al. (2011) , income increase has not shifted households to modern fuel, while Kowsari and Zerriffi (2011) explained households use a mix of energy sources rather than one particular source of energy. The results revealed that the estimated coefficient of income was positive and significant for the choice of electricity ( P < 0.1) and charcoal ( P < 0.05), but it was negative and significant for the choice of fuelwood ( p < 0.05) and crop residue ( P < 0.01). ...
... In this model, non-income factors are thought to have little effect on fuel selection. The ladder begins with a biomass energy source (firewood and charcoal), and as income increases, moves upward to commercial energy sources (kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas-LPG), and ends with electricity (Akpalu et al., 2011). It is assumed that a household faces a choice among alternative fuel types and that the choice maximizes utility. ...
This study assessed the spatial and non-spatial patterns of household fuel choice and the factors influencing choices using data from rural and urban areas of Maswa District, Tanzania. Household spatial information was collected using a handheld Garmin Trex Global Positioning System to enable modeling and visualization of energy consumption. The Hot Spot Analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*) method was used to map the clusters of different types of cooking fuels. The non-spatial data were fitted to a Multinomial Logit model to estimate the significance of the factors that influence the choice of cooking fuels. A transition from traditional to modern fuels as explained in the “energy ladder” model suggests that with increasing affluence, a progression is expected from traditional biomass fuels to more advanced and less polluting fuels. Contrary to this model, however, multiple-fuel use or fuel stacking was more prevalent than fuel switching. Fuel stacking constituted traditional (firewood, 63.9% of the households), transitional (charcoal, 66.6%), and modern (kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and electricity, 25.4%) fuels. Demographic and socio-economic factors were essential in household fuel choices. Overall, biofuels are the most common energy sources both in rural and urban areas, albeit at a varying degree of magnitude and significance. These results suggest the need to increase the production of biomass resources and end-use efficiency while promoting the use of clean fuels.
Upgrading cooking fuels in nature reserves and adjacent regions offers multiple benefits for climate change mitigation and ecosystem preservation. While many studies have analyzed the determinants of cooking energy consumption, rarely is cognition of biodiversity conservation and climate change considered in ecologically sensitive areas. Furthermore, there is limited research on cooking fuel use across households with diverse income levels and geographical locations within these regions. These gaps restrict the formulation of comprehensive, evidence-based policies aimed at balancing energy transitions with environmental sustainability. This study analyzes the adoption of several fuel types and their primary use, based on data collected from nine nature reserves and adjacent regions. A logit model is applied to examine the effect of biodiversity conservation and climate change cognition on fuel choices. The results indicate that biodiversity conservation cognition negatively influences the use of wood/straw, while positively affecting the primary use of LPG/coal gas and electricity. Moreover, households with a well-defined understanding of climate change are more likely to reduce their reliance on wood/straw and adopt electricity. These effects differ across income groups and regions, highlighting the potential of targeted educational initiatives to improve public cognition and facilitate the transition to clean cooking fuels.
As consumers play an increasingly active role in the energy market, understanding their preferences for renewable and non-renewable energy is essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7. This study employs a labelled discrete choice experiment to investigate consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for solar PV panels, power generators, and biomass, considering service provider, service quality, and purchasing price. The survey was administered to 250 households in Kumasi, Ghana. This study finds that solar PV panels are the most preferred energy source, with the highest willingness to pay estimate. However, in cases where solar panels are not easily accessible, households turn to biomass as an alternative. Although there are similarities in choices, variations in preferences among consumers were identified. Furthermore, consumers value product or service quality but remain indifferent between foreign and domestic service providers. Based on these findings, policymakers are advised to engage in awareness campaigns and provide incentives such as subsidies and low-interest loans, to drive solar PV panel adoption among households. Energy developers should consider customized payment plans based on income levels to facilitate affordability. Additionally, recognizing the heterogeneity in preferences necessitates an inclusive policy approach that considers diverse consumer needs and addresses the energy access challenges faced by low-income households.
Global efforts to accomplish net zero carbon emission are implausible without attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which pertains to facilitating access to clean energy sources. Despite numerous initiatives, 2.9 billion people, mostly from South Asia and Africa, are without access to clean cooking fuel. The current study uses Demographic and Household Survey (DHS) Data from 46 developing countries and employs probit regression and decision trees to examine access to clean cooking energy and its determinants. The result shows that clean cooking fuel usage is low in Sub-Saharan Africa and a few countries in Asia. The study also finds that education, wealth, urban residency, and gender are crucial determinants of clean cooking fuel usage. As is the case, global efforts to provide clean fuel access to all and achieve net zero carbon emission require large-scale investment; the clean energy transition policy requires accentuating the improvement of access through supplies and the enhancement of the education and income of the household, especially in rural areas.
Achieving the UN clean energy goal will contribute to the achievement of other sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, the low quality of the power supply is destroying global efforts to introduce clean energy. Specifically, in China, the world’s largest developing country, the rural clean energy plan has been affected by power shortages. It is unclear whether the power shortages are linked to the use of unclean energy sources for cooking by farmers, and it is also unclear what strategies should be adopted to reduce the use of unclean energy for cooking among farmers and the extent to which those strategies will be effective. Thus, this study uses a large sample of data from rural China to assess the quantitative impact of power shortages on unclean energy use in cooking among farmers and identifies the optimal management practices to reduce the probability that farmers use unclean energy in cooking. The results show that (1) unlike farmers who have not suffered from power shortages, farmers who suffer from power shortages tend to use unclean energy for cooking; (2) compared with farmers who suffer from power shortages sometimes, farmers who suffer from power shortages often are more likely to use unclean energy for cooking; and (3) designing local optimization strategies, for example, improving the power supply quality, the infrastructure and livelihood resilience, will reduce the probability that farmers use unclean energy for cooking by 3 ~ 30%. In general, the findings of this study provide valuable evidence for policies that promote global sustainable development.
The introduction of new policies promoting decentralized energy technologies is likely to have profound effects across all the nexus activities, including agricultural production, input use, and labor allocations. Thus, this paper analyzes the potential synergies and trade‐offs created by the adoption of renewable energy technologies along the water–energy–food security nexus in Ethiopia. We use a mathematical programming‐based household model to compare the impacts of fossil‐based and renewable energy use on rural households’ livelihoods. Our findings show that only a 10% subsidy to the price of biogas digester considerably changes the energy mix of all types of households and increases the use of decentralized modern energy sources. Household crop production patterns are not changed substantially as a consequence of the biogas subsidy, despite the competition over resources between crop and energy production. Nonetheless, the subsidy policy can lead to family labor reallocation from collecting fuelwood to agricultural activities. Moreover, the biogas subsidy can improve household incomes. Specifically, the findings indicate that 10% biogas subsidy can lead to 0.93% and 3.44% increases in the net incomes of wealthier and poorer households, respectively, compared to the business‐as‐usual scenario, that is, also has a pro‐poor dimension. Sensitivity analyses are carried out and it appears among others that more subsidy of the price of biogas digester leads to an increase in the net income of the two household types. Overall, the benefits generated by the biogas subsidy in terms of increases in net household incomes outweigh the total costs of the subsidy program. The findings indicate the importance of the subsidy policy to improve rural households’ welfare.
Firewood is the main source of energy in rural communities of emerging economies. Rural people develop different strategies to select and use the available species. Analysis of the firewood consumption and its relation to the wood-energetic properties was performed in four rural villages in the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve. The relationship between the preferential use of species for firewood and wood properties (moisture, ash, volatile content and specific wood density) of 39 species was analyzed using a combination of interviews and laboratory analysis. Fuel value index (FVI) was used to rank species and compare them with a preference index obtained by 76 interviews. People recognized seven characteristics that define the choice of a species for firewood (the kind of flame, the length of the flame, the amount and duration of coal, the type of smoke produced, the ease of ignition, the flavor given to food, and the quantity of ash left). Preference criteria do not match with the FVI. Six of the preferred species have low FVI values (<60.0), 29 species have intermediate (60e300) while only four species showed the highest FVI values (>300). We conclude that the FVI is not related to the preference of the species used by people within the reserve. Availability, proximity to home and feasibility may influence the choice of species used for firewood.
As an innovation of the Chinese government energy policy, solar photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PPAPs) play a positive role in solving energy shortages and poverty reduction. However, there is limited research on energy poverty in China's PPAP areas. This study has proposed a three-dimensional theoretical model for energy poverty, evaluated the energy poverty in the PPAP areas and analyzed its influencing path. The results show that: (1) The implementation of PPAPs has improved energy poverty to various degrees in all three types of solar resource areas; (2) The availability of energy services is the most prominent problem in energy poverty, and the PPAPs improve the availability of energy services the most; (3) Farmers' economic status and education have the greatest impact on alleviating energy poverty, and (4) The PPAPs directly improve the availability of energy services by increasing power generation and stability of the grid, and indirectly affect the cleanliness of energy consumption and energy affordability through farmers per se, thus affecting local energy poverty. Thus, public policies for promoting clean energy and energy utilization technologies (such as solar PV, etc) would help alleviate energy poverty in the rural areas.
The use of household solid energy for cooking is a key factor of environmental health risk. China still has a large share of households relying on solid fuels as a primary source of energy. Clarifying the determinants that drive energy choice in China's households is fundamental to promote household energy transition. We integrate the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm and multinomial Logit model into identifying the determinants of energy choice for household cooking in China by the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. The economic situation is an important factor of household cooking energy transition. Household expenditure is more important than household income. Income is an important factor, but the influence of off-farm employment is more important than income. Higher levels of health and household heads with children are more inclined to use clean energy. The education level of household head, living conditions, and the accessibility and affordability of energy are important factors of energy choice for household cooking. Our study expands the literature on the determinants of energy choice for household cooking and provides valuable supports for policy formulation of household cooking energy transition in China.
Turkish economy with its robust growth performance over the last few decades has brought on the agenda the energy deficit problem together with ever-rising foreign account deficits. Since almost 80% of the energy demand is met through imported fossil resources. In this perspective, household fuel choice is crucial, since it makes up a substantial part of total energy demand. Furthermore, traditional fuels are important sources of indoor air pollution and related health hazards. For this reason, in this study the cross-sectional data obtained from the Household Budget Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute, containing a total of 47573 households, is used. Multinomial Probit and Nested Logit models are utilized to determine the factors affecting Turkish household heating preferences. According to estimations, dwelling characteristics such as type, age, size and heating system of dwellings are generally found to be an important predictors of fuel choice. Moreover, household characteristics, such as income, education level, spending and saving habits, household size, employment status, marital status, and credit card ownership are generally found to be statistically significant factors. Finally, it is suggested that government support is important for a smooth transition from traditional fuels to modern fuels.
Deforestation Global warming Health effects PIC Wood fuel consumption a b s t r a c t A study was conducted, using a multistage simple random sampling design, to determine the structural characteristics of the traditional cooking stoves, amount of wood fuel consumed in the rural floodplain areas in Bangladesh, and also to figure out the socioeconomic and environmental consequences of wood fuel usage in the traditional cooking stove. The study showed that family size, income, amount cooked and burning hours significantly affected the amount of wood fuel used per family per year. Taking into account different family sizes, the study observed that 4.24 tonne fuelwood were consumed per family per year. The study showed that 42% of families used only biomass fuel, 5% used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 53% used kerosene along with biomass fuels. The main source of biomass fuel was homestead forests (40%). It has been figured out that the incomplete combustion of biomass in the traditional cooking stove poses severe epidemiological consequences to human health and contributes to global warming. The study also showed that 83% of the respondents would prefer improved cooking stoves over traditional cooking stoves.
We describe and evaluate here certain new designs for single-pan wood stoves of high efficiency. The novelty in the design consists chiefly in the use of improved geometries for the combustion chamber and the vessel support. Extensive tests on water boiling and cooking demonstrate efficiencies exceeding 40%; these high values are attributable to stove operation at near stoichiometric conditions. The configuration termed Swosthee is among the most efficient stoves available to date, and is able to burn wet wood under partial loading with little accompanying smoke. Two versions of the same basic design provide inexpensive stoves that retain to a large extent the advantages of the original design like the generation of pollutants at low levels in the flue gases and the ability to handle wet wood.
For the proposed designs the dependence of their cooking efficiency on vessel size has been obtained. These are reflected in terms of specific fuel consumption (whose variation is a function of vessel size). The present designs, when compared to other currently available improved stove designs like Priyagni, Tara, the Tamil Nadu Stove and theAstra three-pan stove, are better with respect to at least one of the following criteria-efficiency, cost, CO emission and portability. The stoves are presently being disseminated in small numbers.
Two questionnaire surveys of fuel use by low-income households in Zimbabwe were conducted in four small towns in 1994, and in these towns plus four larger towns in 1999. An energy transition from wood through kerosene to electricity occurred (a) with rising household income, (b) with increasing electrification status among towns and (c) over time in the smaller towns, in spite of falling household incomes in two of the towns. Increasing discrepancy in the incomes of higher and lower income groups over time was not associated with greater divergence in their fuel choices. By 1999 electricity was used by almost all households in towns with good electricity supplies, while use of firewood in these towns was infrequent. However, even the wealthiest households continued to combine electricity with other fuels, usually kerosene. Electricity use by less affluent households is apparently limited by lack of connections in the home and by access to appliances, while fuel prices, which are subject to government subsidies and fell in real terms over 5 years, have been less important. Zimbabwe's urban domestic energy policy has had considerable success in terms of equity, but this is increasingly difficult to maintain given present economic and political uncertainty.
Bio fuels are still a major source for cooking by many households in developing countries such as India causing significant disease burden due to indoor air pollution. While household income influences the choice of fuel the policies that affect accessibility and price of fuels also have an important role in determining the fuel choice. This study analyzes the pollution–income relationship for the period 1983–2000, separately across rural and urban households in India based on unit record data on fuel consumption obtained through National Sample Surveys. While a non-monotonic relationship is observed in rural India in both the decades, in urban India a similar relationship is observed only for the initial period indicating faster transition towards ‘cleaner’ fuels mainly enabled by policies that have been pro-urban. The study also finds that the impact of household size and composition on bio fuels is more negative than for clean fuels and is increasingly negative over time possibly due to greater awareness about the ill effects of such fuels.
An extensive survey on household expenditures in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, was used to analyze the factors determining urban household energy choices using a multinomial logit model. Wood-energy remains the preferred fuel of most urban households in the country; though rational, the choice is not sustainable as it portends a threat to the savanna woodlands and the economy. Many important policies have been adopted by public authorities to minimize household wood-energy consumption and to substitute it by alternative fuel. Despite the magnitude of all these policies, the depletion rate of the forest resource is increasing. A kind of inertia is thus observed for household preferences for cooking fuel. This model analyzes the sociological and economic variables of household energy preferences for cooking in Ouagadougou. The analyses show that the inertia of household cooking energy preferences are due to poverty factors such as low income, poor household access to electricity for primary and secondary energy, low house standard, household size, high frequency of cooking certain meals using woodfuel as cooking energy. The descriptive analyses show that the domestic demand for wood-energy is strongly related to household income. The firewood utilization rate decreases with increasing household income. In other words, this fuel appears as a “transition good” for these households which aim for other sources of energy for cooking that are more adapted for urban consumption. This implies that a price subsidy policy for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and its cook stoves could significantly decrease the utilization rate of wood-energy.
Large quantities of biomass fuels are used for cooking in the developing countries. Although biomass is a renewable source of energy, traditional biomass-fired stoves cause significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to formation of products of incomplete combustion; also, exposure to smoke from these stoves causes serious health problems. This paper presents an analysis of a number of selected options available for developing countries in the context of reducing total greenhouse gas emission per unit of useful energy for cooking. It is assumed that biomass as an energy carrier is CO2—neutral. However, other GHGs emitted from biomass combustion cause a net greenhouse effect; accordingly, in this study only the non-CO2 greenhouse gases i.e. CH4 and N2O are considered in estimating GHG emission for different biomass-based cooking options. The total GHG emission from traditional wood-fired stoves is estimated to be about of CO2 equivalent per mega joule of useful energy (g CO2-e MJuseful−1) delivered to the cooking pot; this can be compared with 42, 5, 2, 350, 166 and -e MJuseful−1 in case of improved wood-, biogas-, producer gas-, kerosene-, natural gas- and LPG-fired stoves, respectively. Modern biomass based cooking options such as improved biomass-, biogas- and producer gas-fired stoves can potentially play an important role in mitigating GHG emission from domestic cooking by providing an alternative to kerosene-, natural gas- and LPG-fired stoves.
A critical review was conducted of the quantitative literature linking indoor air pollution from household use of biomass fuels with acute respiratory infections in young children, which is focused on, but not confined to, acute lower respiratory infection and pneumonia in children under two years in less developed countries. Biomass in the form of wood, crop residues, and animal dung is used in more than two fifths of the world's households as the principal fuel.
Medline and other electronic databases were used, but it was also necessary to secure literature from colleagues in less developed countries where not all publications are yet internationally indexed.
The studies of indoor air pollution from household biomass fuels are reasonably consistent and, as a group, show a strong significant increase in risk for exposed young children compared with those living in households using cleaner fuels or being otherwise less exposed. Not all studies were able to adjust for confounders, but most of those that did so found that strong and significant risks remained.
It seems that the relative risks are likely to be significant for the exposures considered here. Since acute lower respiratory infection is the chief cause of death in children in less developed countries, and exacts a larger burden of disease than any other disease category for the world population, even small additional risks due to such a ubiquitous exposure as air pollution have important public health implications. In the case of indoor air pollution in households using biomass fuels, the risks also seem to be fairly strong, presumably because of the high daily concentrations of pollutants found in such settings and the large amount of time young children spend with their mothers doing household cooking. Given the large vulnerable populations at risk, there is an urgent need to conduct randomised trials to increase confidence in the cause-effect relationship, to quantify the risk more precisely, to determine the degree of reduction in exposure required to significantly improve health, and to establish the effectiveness of interventions.
Indoor air pollution resulting from the combustion of solid fuels has been identified as a major health threat in the developing world. This study examines how the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and behavioural risk factors affect respiratory health infections in Accra, Ghana. About 65.3% of respondents use charcoal and 4.2% use unprocessed wood. A total of 241 (25.4%) respondents who cook had had respiratory health symptoms in the two weeks preceding the study. Household socioeconomic status and educational attainment of respondents were found to have a significant impact on respiratory health through their particular influence on the choice of cooking fuel. Households that use wood and charcoal have a high incidence of respiratory health symptoms. The poor are more affected by respiratory health problems due to their heavy dependence on solid fuels as compared with their wealthy counterparts. Households that cook in multiple purpose rooms are more affected by respiratory health problems than those that cook outdoors. There is a positive correlation between the presence of children in the kitchen during cooking and the incidence of respiratory health symptoms among children (r=0.31, p<0.0001). Poverty and lack of education and awareness are the major factors affecting the choice of cooking fuel, place of cooking and respiratory health in Accra.
Respiratory Diseases are public health concern worldwide. The diseases have been associated with air pollution especially indoor air pollution from biomass fuel burning in developing countries. However, researches on pollution levels and on association of respiratory diseases with biomass fuel pollution are limited. A study was therefore undertaken to characterize the levels of pollutants in biomass fuel using homes and examine the association between biomass fuel smoke exposure and Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) disease in Nianjema village in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Pollution was assessed by measuring PM10, NO2, and CO concentrations in kitchen, living room and outdoors. ARI prevalence was assessed by use of questionnaire which gathered health information for all family members under the study. Results showed that PM10, NO2, and CO concentrations were highest in the kitchen and lowest outdoors. Kitchen concentrations were highest in the kitchen located in the living room for all pollutants except CO. Family size didn't have effect on the levels measured in kitchens. Overall ARI prevalence for cooks and children under age 5 making up the exposed group was 54.67% with odds ratio (OR) of 5.5; 95% CI 3.6 to 8.5 when compared with unexposed men and non-regular women cooks. Results of this study suggest an association between respiratory diseases and exposure to domestic biomass fuel smoke, but further studies with improved design are needed to confirm the association.
With the recent jump in world oil prices, the issue of petroleum product pricing has become increasingly important in developing countries. Reflecting a reluctance of many governments to pass these price increases onto energy users, energy price subsidies are absorbing an increasing share of scarce public resources. This paper identifies the issues that need to be discussed when analyzing the fiscal and social costs of fuel subsidies. Using examples from analyses recently undertaken for five countries, it also identifies the magnitude of consumer subsidies and their fiscal implications. The results of the analysis show that-in all of these countries-energy subsidies have significant social and fiscal costs and are badly targeted.
BACKGROUND—A critical review was conducted of the quantitative literature linking indoor air pollution from household use of biomass fuels with acute respiratory infections in young children, which is focused on, but not confined to, acute lower respiratory infection and pneumonia in children under two years in less developed countries. Biomass in the form of wood, crop residues, and animal dung is used in more than two fifths of the world's households as the principal fuel.
METHODS—Medline and other electronic databases were used, but it was also necessary to secure literature from colleagues in less developed countries where not all publications are yet internationally indexed.
RESULTS—The studies of indoor air pollution from household biomass fuels are reasonably consistent and, as a group, show a strong significant increase in risk for exposed young children compared with those living in households using cleaner fuels or being otherwise less exposed. Not all studies were able to adjust for confounders, but most of those that did so found that strong and significant risks remained.
CONCLUSIONS—It seems that the relative risks are likely to be significant for the exposures considered here. Since acute lower respiratory infection is the chief cause of death in children in less developed countries, and exacts a larger burden of disease than any other disease category for the world population, even small additional risks due to such a ubiquitous exposure as air pollution have important public health implications. In the case of indoor air pollution in households using biomass fuels, the risks also seem to be fairly strong, presumably because of the high daily concentrations of pollutants found in such settings and the large amount of time young children spend with their mothers doing household cooking. Given the large vulnerable populations at risk, there is an urgent need to conduct randomised trials to increase confidence in the cause-effect relationship, to quantify the risk more precisely, to determine the degree of reduction in exposure required to significantly improve health, and to establish the effectiveness of interventions.
This paper examines household energy consumption patterns in rural areas in the light of energy transition theories. In particular, the study aims to identify the effects of access to electricity on fuel choice. The analysis uses data from an extensive household survey conducted in South Africa and examines the prevalence of different fuels, energy expenditure, the end-uses of fuels, and multiple-fuel use patterns. It is concluded that evidence exists for the presence of an energy transition in rural households, largely driven by income. Access to electricity affects the nature of this transition, and there is weak evidence to suggest that it accelerates the process.
Over the last ten years the number of projects mainstreaming gender and energy has steadily increased. Improvements have been made and milestones passed, while the issue has gained in visibility and outreach. Nevertheless, the incidence of energy poverty is still such that many gender and energy initiatives, particularly “stand-alone” projects, have made little difference to the lives of millions of poor women and men across Africa[1].
This study will closely examine two projects in West Africa, one with a particular stress on gender, the other conducted with little or no gender emphasis. Both the Multifunctional Platform (MFP) and the “butanisation” programme have been devised in the context of socio-economic realities and have the aim of bringing about changes that would diversify energy consumption patterns and help reduce poverty. The paper explains why both projects have been successful in their own right and examines how good supporting policy, well-thought-out training and capacity-building could help in replicating such stories and create a much bigger impact on the lives of rural and peri-urban women. The experience of the “butanisation” programme in Senegal bears witness to the (amended) adage “Where there is 'political' will there is a way”. Likewise, the MFP has changed village dynamics and given women, whose roles and status have hitherto been invisible, the opportunity to become owners and managers of an apparatus that provides energy services, and has huge positive time- and cost-saving implications as well as provides a potential source of income.
Constraints and limitations experienced in both projects will be highlighted and a number of critical interventions proposed that will translate the energies exerted at conferences into real implementation on the ground.
The paper estimates charcoal demand and supply elasticities to determine rebound effects from improved stoves in the Sudan. These are increases in fuel consumption resulting from gains in real income upon the use of more efficient appliances, and from downward price adjustments associated with the reduction in fuel requirements. The findings are that: (1) charcoal markets are characterized by low elasticities; and (2) 42% of fuel savings are lost, mostly as a result of large price adjustments since low elasticities place more of the burden of market adjustment on prices than on quantities. Nonetheless, price-related effects may be small because of increases in charcoal prices as a result of accelerated deforestation.
Promoting sustainable development requires evaluating the technical and policy options that will facilitate the adoption and use of energy efficient and less polluting cooking stoves and practices. The transition from traditional to modern fuels and devices has been explained by the “energy ladder” model that suggests that with increasing affluence, a progression is expected from traditional biomass fuels to more advanced and less polluting fuels. In this paper we evaluate the energy ladder model utilizing data from a four-year (1992–96) case study of a village in Mexico and from a large-scale survey from four states of Mexico. We show that an alternate “multiple fuel” model of stove and fuel management based on the observed pattern of household accumulation of energy options, rather than the simple progression depicted in the traditional energy ladder scenario, more accurately depicts cooking fuel use patterns in rural households. The “multiple fuel” model integrates four factors demonstrated to be essential in household decision making under conditions of resource scarcity or uncertainty: (a) economics of fuel and stove type and access conditions to fuels, (b) technical characteristics of cookstoves and cooking practices; (c) cultural preferences; and (d) health impacts. This model also allows better estimates of the expected fuelwood demand and indoor air pollution in rural households.
The article attempts to develop a general theory of the allocation of time in non-work activities. It sets out a basic theoretical analysis of choice that includes the cost of time on the same footing as the cost of market goods and treats various empirical implications of the theory. These include a new approach to changes in hours of work and leisure, the full integration of so-called productive consumption into economic analysis, a new analysis of the effect of income on the quantity and quality of commodities consumed, some suggestions on the measurement of productivity, an economic analysis of queues and a few others as well. The integration of production and consumption is at odds with the tendency for economists to separate them sharply, production occurring in firms and consumption in households. It should be pointed out, however, that in recent years economists increasingly recognize that a household is truly a small factory. It combines capital goods, raw materials and labor to clean, feed, procreate and otherwise produce useful commodities.
Indoor air pollution (IAP) caused by solid fuel use and/or traditional cooking stoves is a global health threat, particularly for women and young children. The WHO World Health Report 2002 estimates that IAP is responsible for 2.7% of the loss of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide and 3.7% in high mortality developing countries. Despite the magnitude of this problem, social scientists have only recently begun to pay closer attention to this issue and to test strategies for reducing IAP. In this paper, we provide a survey of the current literature on the relationship between indoor air pollution, respiratory health and economic well-being. We then discuss the available evidence on the effectiveness of popular policy prescriptions to reduce IAP within the household.
The research agendas of psychologists and economists now have several overlaps, with behavioural economics providing theoretical and experimental study of the relationship between behaviour and choice, and hedonic psychology discussing appropriate measures of outcomes of choice in terms of overall utility or life satisfaction. Here we model the relationship between values (understood as principles guiding behaviour), choices and their final outcomes in terms of life satisfaction, and use data from the BHPS to assess whether our ideas on what is important in life (individual values) are broadly connected to what we experience as important in our lives (life satisfaction).
Acute and chronic respiratory diseases, which are causally linked to exposure to indoor air pollution in developing countries, are the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Efforts to develop effective intervention strategies and detailed quantification of the exposure-response relationship for indoor particulate matter require accurate estimates of exposure. We used continuous monitoring of indoor air pollution and individual time-activity budget data to construct detailed profiles of exposure for 345 individuals in 55 households in rural Kenya. Data for analysis were from two hundred ten 14-hour days of continuous real-time monitoring of concentrations of particulate matter [less than/equal to] 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter and the location and activities of household members. These data were supplemented by data on the spatial dispersion of pollution and from interviews. Young and adult women had not only the highest absolute exposure to particulate matter (2, 795 and 4,898 microg/m(3) average daily exposure concentrations, respectively) but also the largest exposure relative to that of males in the same age group (2.5 and 4.8 times, respectively). Exposure during brief high-intensity emission episodes accounts for 31-61% of the total exposure of household members who take part in cooking and 0-11% for those who do not. Simple models that neglect the spatial distribution of pollution within the home, intense emission episodes, and activity patterns underestimate exposure by 3-71% for different demographic subgroups, resulting in inaccurate and biased estimations. Health and intervention impact studies should therefore consider in detail the critical role of exposure patterns, including the short periods of intense emission, to avoid spurious assessments of risks and benefits.
Collateral impacts of LULUCF projects, especially those concerning social and environmental aspects, have been recognised as important by the Marrakech Accords. The same applies to the necessity of assessing and, if possible, of quantifying the magnitude of these impacts. This article aims to define, clarify and structure the relevant social, economic and environmental issues to be addressed and to give examples of indicators that ought to be included in the planning, design, implementation, monitoring, and ex post evaluation of LULUCF projects. This is being done by providing a conceptual framework for the assessment of the sustainability of such projects that can be used as a checklist when dealing with concrete projects, and that in principle is applicable to both Annex I and non-Annex I countries. Finally, a set of recommendations is provided to further develop and promote the proposed framework.
India has been running large-scale interventions in the energy sector over the last decades. Still, there is a dearth of reliable and readily available price and income elasticities of demand to base these on, especially for domestic use of traditional fuels. This study uses the linear approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LA-AIDS) using micro data of more than 100,000 households sampled across India. The LA-AIDS model is expanded by specifying the intercept as a linear function of household characteristics. Marshallian and Hicksian price and expenditure elasticities of demand for four main fuels are estimated for both urban and rural areas by different income groups. These can be used to evaluate recent and current energy policies. The results can also be used for energy projections and carbon dioxide simulations given different growth rates for different segments of the Indian population.
Residential Energy Savings through Multi-Fuel Use and Energy Efficient Appliances Transforming Housing Environments through Design
- R Naidoo
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and Energy Efficient Appliances Transforming Housing Environments through
Design. Pretoria, South Africa, September 27-30 2005.
Political Petrol Pricing: The Distributional Impact of Ghana's Fuel Subsidies
- W Akpalu
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Akpalu, W., Robinson, E., 2011. Political Petrol Pricing: The Distributional Impact
of Ghana's Fuel Subsidies, unpublished.
Fuelwood Revisited: What has Changed in the Last Decade? CIFOR Occasional Paper No. 39
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International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia.
Social Determinants of Energy Use in Low-Income Metropolitan Households in the Western Cape (Phase 1)
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Determinants of Household Fuel Choice in Major Cities in Ethiopia, Environment for Development (EfD) Discussion Paper 08-18
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Cities in Ethiopia, Environment for Development (EfD) Discussion Paper 08-18.
University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden.
Responding to a Global Need for Local Action in Domestic Energy
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Ghana's rural finance system and climate regime: an in-depth analysis. Prepared for the World Wildlife FundCapstone-2010-A-Ghanas-rural-finan ce-system-and-climate-regime.pdfS From linear fuel switching to multiple cooking strategies: a critique and alternative to the energy ladder model
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Energy Use in Some Peri-Urban Areas in Kumasi
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Ghana's rural finance system and climate regime: an in-depth analysis
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climate regime: an in-depth analysis. Prepared for the World Wildlife Fund.
/http://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2011/01/Capstone-2010-A-Ghanas-rural-finan
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# EO9420. Department of Minerals and Energy, Pretoria.
Mekonnen, A., K ¨
ohlin, G., 2008. Determinants of Household Fuel Choice in Major
Cities in Ethiopia, Environment for Development (EfD) Discussion Paper 08-18.
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A Report on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Substitution for Wood Fuel in Ghana-Opportunities and Challenges
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Fuel in Ghana-Opportunities and Challenges. INFOLINK no.1.
Access of the Poor to Clean Household Fuels in India
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Joint United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/World Bank Energy
Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), South Asia Environment
and Social Development Department, The World Bank, Washington DC.
The Challenge for Rural Energy Poverty in Developing Countries
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The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): a carrying pillar in the global combat against land degradation and food insecurity. Background Paper for the San Rossore Meeting Climate Change: A New Global Vision
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The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): a carrying
pillar in the global combat against land degradation and food insecurity.
Background Paper for the San Rossore Meeting Climate Change: A New Global
Vision. Pisa, Italy, 15-16 July 2004.