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Household cooking fuel use patterns and determinants across southern Africa: Evidence from the demographic and health survey data
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Improving access to modern energy sources is critical to enhancing the quality of life of many people in developing countries. In southern Africa, the majority of rural and poor urban households are dependent on solid fuels to meet their cooking needs. To date, there is scarce information in the literature on household cooking fuel patterns across southern Africa. Using household fuel data from the Demographic and Health Survey, this study investigated cooking fuel types and the determinants of their choice by households in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The data on household cooking energy were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that 25% of sampled households in all seven countries have access to electricity, while 66% rely on biomass for cooking. Chi-Square analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between place of residence and type of cooking fuel, and between access to electricity and type of cooking fuel. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that socio-demographic factors such as access to electricity, household size, the level of education and wealth index have a positive influence on the type of cooking fuel used in this region. However, access to electricity does not imply that households will negate the use of traditional fuels. These results have implications for household air pollution, health, policy and environmental sustainability. It is recommended that energy interventions in this region need to consider demand factors and have to be less supply driven, advocating for continued use of multiple fuels from a suite of options.
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... Some recent estimates of the World Health Organization indicate that, in 2019, approximately 70% of Nigerians relied on traditional biomass fuels as their primary sources of energy for cooking (World Health Organization, 2021). The foregoing detestable situation is not peculiar to Nigeria rather it is common in the less developed regions of the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (Adkins, Oppelstrup & Modi, 2012;Giri & Goswami, 2018;Makonese, Ifegbesan & Rampedi, 2018;Ouedraogo, 2006;and Twumasi et al., 2021). Heavy reliance on traditional fuels such as woody biomass and dung contributes immensely to deforestation, forest degradation, land degradation and air pollution as well as significant increase in morbidity and mortality Ogwumike, Ozughalu & Abiona, 2014;Sana, Kafando, Dramaix, Meda & Bouland, 2020). ...
... As further pointed out in Heltberg (2004), the risk of confusing fuel/energy choice and fuel/energy switching is embodied in the energy ladder model. Modern household energy choice theory indicates that income and relative energy prices as well as availability and accessibility of energy sources, although important, are not the only factors determining households' energy choices; there are many other factorsboth on the demand and supply sides of household energy requirements -that are important factors influencing households' energy choices (Giri & Goswami, 2018;Jan et al., 2012;Joshi & Bohara, 2017;Makonese et al., 2018;Pandey & Chaubal, 2011;Rahut et al., 2014). ...
... Lack of adequate access to modern and environmentally-friendly energy sources for cooking is both a cause and an effect of underdevelopment; and poverty is a major indicator of underdevelopment. As noted in Heltberg(2005) and Makonese et al.(2018), the use of dirty energy sources for cooking and other domestic services adversely affects household welfare through a variety of channels such as indoor and outdoor pollution, degradation of forests and soil as well as destruction of the habitat of animals which ultimately cause significant decline in health status, human productivity, output and income. This study has shown that an overwhelming proportion of Nigerian households use traditional biomass fuels as their main energy sources for cooking and the patterns of households' energy choices for cooking in the country apparently exhibit the operation of energy ladder hypothesis; poor households tend to use dirty fuels while non-poor households tend to use cleaner energy sources. ...
Adequate access to environmentally-friendly energy sources is crucial for addressing the problems of environmental degradation and adverse climate change as well as other developmental challenges. The literature on the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking is very scanty. Essentially, the scanty literature, in general, did not adequately cater for household composition and economies of scale in household consumption as well as give adequate consideration to the impact of ownership of education/entertainment appliances and means of communication by households on households' energy choices for cooking. It is very important to utilize adult equivalence scales and estimate of economies of scales in household consumption in the analysis of household consumption in order to make such analysis highly robust. It is also very important to include ownership of education/entertainment appliances and means of communication in the analysis of households' energy choices for cooking because they (the appliances and means of communication) are expected to provide adequate awareness on the harmful effects of dirty energy sources and such awareness can influence households' energy choices. Furthermore, none of the studies in the scanty literature discussed the major implications for poverty eradication of the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking. This study adequately addressed the highlighted research gaps. The study analyzed the patterns and determinants of households' energy choices for cooking in Nigeria and discussed their implications for poverty eradication in the country using, among other things, descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression technique. The study was based on a nationally representative survey data, obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics. The study found that the patterns of households' energy choices for cooking in Nigeria exhibit the operation of energy ladder hypothesis. The study also found that increased educational level of household head, ownership of electric food preservation appliance by household and satisfactory housing condition are among the factors that increase the likelihoods of the uses of transition fuels and very clean energy sources as well as reduce the likelihood of the use of traditional biomass fuels. Adequate measures should therefore be put in place to sufficiently increase households' incomes and guarantee optimal access to environmentally-friendly energy sources for cooking in the country; this will pave the way for poverty eradication in the country.
... This class of chemicals covers a range of volatilities, from relatively volatile (e.g., guaiacol) to exclusively particle-associated. These chemicals are relatively abundant in wood smoke, although the most abundant compounds are predominantly in the vapor phase [96,97,99]. Accurate chemical analysis of methoxyphenols has proved to be an analytical challenge. ...
... The beginning of the second phase was marked by two scenarios that changed the course of improved cookstove organizations. Firstly, the understanding that the deficit of wood was not linked to subsistence consumption of rural communities, but rather to deforestation for subsequent cultivation or grazing of livestock, practices linked to agribusiness and which became a threat to energy resources [19,36,65,97]. Secondly, organizations understood the importance of community participation in the planning and development of improved cookstoves, which would result in greater acceptance of the products, since their involvement would make it possible to identify potential problems for that specific community [10,102]. ...
... Charcoal can be produced from forest biomass through the pyrolysis process and has about twice the calorific value of raw wood [115]. As firewood, charcoal is used for grilling and smoking food, especially in countries in South America and sub-Saharan Africa [88,97]. Families in developing countries also use charcoal for heating and lighting [109]. ...
One-third of the world's population does not have access to clean energy sources for food preparation. The use of inefficient technologies can increase the emission of potential greenhouse gases (GHG) and accelerate climate change. Recently, the increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible to increase the use of firewood in the domestic environment, directly impacting people's health and the environment. In this context, the application of greener technologies can mitigate the harmful effects caused on people and nature. Thus, this chapter presents a description of the main primary sources of energy used in food around the world, specifically forest biomass and LPG, in addition to presenting the historical context that encompasses both energy sources. What were the main sources of energy used in the past? What has changed from the Neanderthal period to today? How was the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and how is it today? How was the world scenario of firewood use in domestic environments and how is it currently? And other biomasses, did they already have space? How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the use of these energy sources (forestry biomass and LPG)? What impacts do these energy sources have on climate change? What do the COP27 discussions bring as prospects? These were the questions that guided this chapter.KeywordsForest biomassEnergy sourcesClimate changesFuelsFood cooking
... However, some studies have found it to be ineffective. Makonese et al. (2018), for instance, noted that the policy was a failure since it was insignificant in meeting the basic energy needs of South Africans. Their study, however, failed to consider how the specific vulnerable groups, such as women with disabilities, fared when given this subsidy. ...
This study addresses a crucial gap in the existing literature by exploring the intricate relationship between gender, disability, and energy poverty. While prior research has shown that females and persons with disabilities are more vulnerable to energy poverty, our study adopts an intersectionality framework to investigate how these identities interact with other variables, including life dissatisfaction, food insecurity, and energy subsidy, to shape the experience of energy deprivation. Using a series of robust techniques, our analysis of the General Household Survey in South Africa reveals several noteworthy findings. First, while females are less likely to be energy poor, the intersection between females and disability significantly amplifies their risk of energy poverty by 2.6%. Our mediation analysis further elucidates that life dissatisfaction and food insecurity serve as critical mechanisms through which this intersection exacerbates energy poverty. Importantly, we also find that the impact of energy subsidy is most effective when targeted toward females with disabilities, highlighting the need for tailored interventions. We call for policymakers and stakeholders to prioritize targeted energy subsidy schemes for persons with disabilities and females, recognizing the critical role such policies can play in mitigating energy poverty and promoting equity.
... "Moving towards the use of cleaner fuels has been seen as an important step to improving the standard of living for countries that rely heavily on traditional energy sources" [10]. "Improving access to modern energy sources such as electricity for light and appliances and clean cooking technologies is therefore an important development goal and considered critical in enhancing the quality of life of many people particularly in developing countries" [11]. ...
The growing utilization of traditional energy sources particularly in developing countries has in recent times been drawing disturbing attention from researchers and policy makers in view of the environmental and health consequences associated with such fuels. Hence the need to empirically examine the economic and socio-demographic factors that drive household cooking energy choice in public housing estates in Maiduguri, Borno State, NorthEast Nigeria. A survey questionnaire was Original Research Article Akeh et al.; J. Energy Res. Rev., vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 61-75, 2023; Article no.JENRR.96588 62 used to elicit data from a sample of 355 household-heads from the target population of 3,192 households using systematic sampling technique. Multinomial Logistic Regression was used to analyze the probability of households' choice of different energy types used for cooking purposes. The results revealed that higher income, higher educational level, occupation of the household head; location of residence, kitchen type and ownership of dwelling had positive effects on the probability of choosing cleaner sources of energy for cooking. Meanwhile, lower income and larger household size had positive correlation with the likelihood of choosing traditional energy sources such as fuelwood and charcoal as the primary cooking energy source among households. It is recommended that policy makers and stakeholders in the energy sector should take adequate and proactive steps that will promote access to cleaner, efficient, affordable and modern sources of energy for household cooking activities in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria.
Cooking and heating using solid fuels, such as dung, wood, agricultural residues, grass, straw, charcoal, and coal, is a main source of household air pollution. This indoor combustion encompasses a diversity of health detrimental pollutants, especially for people from low-income countries like Ethiopia since solid fuels are accessible easily at a lesser cost. Limited studies done showing factors affecting in choosing fuel type and no study, which revealed spatial heterogeneity of solid fuel used based on such nationally representative data. Therefore, this study, aimed at investigating spatial variation and determinants of solid fuel use in Ethiopia. This study was done using the data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey 2016, a national representative sample (16,650) households were included. Spatial and Multi-level logistic regression analysis was done by considering the DHS data hierarchal nature. Variables in the final model with a p-value < 0.05 were reported as significant predictors of using solid fuel. All analyses were done using ArcGIS V.10.7.1 and STATA V.14 software. The finding of this study revealed that 90.8% (95% CI (87.9%, 91.2%)) of households depend on solid fuel for cooking. Based on the final model ;Male household head (AOR 1.38, 95% CI (1.12–1.71)), age of household head (AOR 1.61, 95% CI (1.20, 2.17)), and 1.49 (OR 1.49, 95% CI (1.12, 1.99)) respectively for the age classes of < 30, and 30–40, education attainment no education (OR 3.14, 95% CI (1.13, 8.71)) and primary education (AOR 2.16, 95% CI (2.78, 5.96), wealth index Poorest (AOR 11.05, 95% CI (5.68, 15.78)), Poorer (OR 5.19, 95% CI (5.43, 13.19)), Middle (OR 3.08, 95% CI (2.44, 8.73)), and Richer (OR 1.30, 95IC (1.07, 13.49)) compared to richest, and not accessibility of electricity (AOR 31.21, 95% CI (35.41, 42.67)), were individual-level factors significantly associated with using solid fuel. Community-level factors like households found at large city (AOR 2.80, 95CI (1.65, 4.77)), small city (AOR 2.58, 95% CI (1.55, 4.32)) town (AOR 4.02, 95% CI (2.46, 6.55)), and countryside (AOR 14.40, 95% CI (6.23, 21.15)) compared households found in capital city, community level media exposure (AOR 6.00, 95% CI (4.61, 7.82)) were statistically predictors in using solid fuel for cooking. This finding revealed that a large proportion of households in Ethiopia heavily depend on biomass, especially wood, for cooking. There was a greater disparity on solid fuel use for cooking in Ethiopia. Implementing major policy interventions should be introduced to reduce solid fuel use for cooking and inequalities in accessing clean fuel in Ethiopia.
Several examples in the literature and worldwide place biomass as an undervalued fuel, considering that it could have a more noble use than its use in combustion. However, is there anything nobler than eating? Forest biomass is used for cooking food in the wealthiest and most vulnerable social classes as a primary or secondary energy source. For underprivileged families, forest biomass is used in a raw form or with little processing in ineffective energy conversion technologies, which can bring health risks due to long-term exposure. For wealthy families, forest biomass is used with greater use of technology, for example, in densified fuels or efficient ovens and even, in some cases, in preparing “gourmet” foods. Therefore, as it is a fuel for the daily use of many populations, forest biomass becomes directly related to food security issues. In addition to participating in broader contexts, forest biomass can promote economic and social development in different locations, enabling food production with added value by families, for example, in rural settlements. Thus, this chapter presents an approach to how other family groups from different social classes use biomass for cooking and maintaining their survival or enjoying exclusive pleasures provided by biomass energy.KeywordsFood securitySustainable food productionCooking technologiesFood policyClean cooking
This paper presents an analysis of household energy uses in an informal settlement in Mu buga,
Gitega, Burundi. At the time of the survey, the houses in Mubuga were not connected to the national
electricity grid. Data were collected from a survey of 100 households through structured and open interviews. Of the interviewed households, 84 percent indicated that they used fuelwood as a primary energy source for cooking. About 94 percent used charcoal for commercial (barbecuing/grilling meat) purposes and 22 percent used it for domestic cooking. For lighting, kerosene accounted for 55 percent followed by candles (36%) and rechargeable lanterns (10%). Households in Mubuga used multiple energy carriers for cooking and heating needs. It is therefore recommended that intervention models that advocate for multiple fuel use should be promoted in the area. This allows indigent families to freely choose cooking fuels from a set of options.
This paper presents a survey from a sample of 52 households from three informal urban settlements in Tembisa, Johannesburg, namely Vusimuzi, Madela Kufa Section 1 and Madela Kufa Section 2. The survey covered energy needs for cooking, space heating, water heating and lighting. No information was requested on the age, gender, status in the household, income level of the respondents, or the number of persons in the household. Coal was the primary source of energy for cooking, water heating and space heating, while kerosene was frequently used for cooking and lighting, and less for water heating. The majority of informal dwellings were not connected to the electricity grid at the time of the survey, save for a few which were connected through petrol-powered electric generators or through electricity obtained from a network of illegal connections. None of the households purchased LP gas for domestic use; the fuel is generally perceived to be unsafe for use in these settlements. Factors such as seasonality, the availability and price of fuels, and socio-cultural aspects affect fuel choices and the quantity consumed.
Household energy choices have always been associated with, household income, size education and accessibility and affordability. Little attention has been paid to behavioural and cultural factors regarding the determinants of households’ energy choices. This study attempts to show the significance of culture as a household energy determinant in Chiwundura Communal Area in Zimbabwe. The study employed interviews and observations in data collection. In analysing the data, the research looked at the trends of the responses from the interviewees. Themes were then developed and these were then analysed. It was established that behavioural and cultural practices, lifestyles and food preferences were important in the continued reliance on fuelwood as a cooking energy form. Respondents from households mentioned that food prepared over a traditional cooking stove was tastier than food that was prepared on an electrical stove. The traditional fire had multiple uses that included space heating, preservation of food and seed, flavouring meat and fish as well as acting as a social focus. Traditional fires remain an important aspect in the lives of Chiwundura Communal Area households. Therefore it is recommended that further research on the importance of culture and behavioural factors as energy determinants should be conducted. It is important for development agencies and other stakeholders such as the government to develop sustainable ways of utilising fuelwood as households will continue to rely on it.
"The Global Energy Assessment (GEA) brings together over 300 international researchers to provide an independent, scientifically based, integrated and policy-relevant analysis of current and emerging energy issues and options. It has been peer-reviewed anonymously by an additional 200 international experts. The GEA assesses the major global challenges for sustainable development and their linkages to energy; the technologies and resources available for providing energy services; future energy systems that address the major challenges; and the policies and other measures that are needed to realize transformational change toward sustainable energy futures. The GEA goes beyond existing studies on energy issues by presenting a comprehensive and integrated analysis of energy challenges, opportunities and strategies, for developing, industrialized and emerging economies. This volume is an invaluable resource for energy specialists and technologists in all sectors (academia, industry and government) as well as policymakers, development economists and practitioners in international organizations and national governments"--
This paper considers the problem of determining future climate change in Africa due to human modification of the global atmosphere. Some of the main conclusions may be summarised as follows: Natural climate variability in Africa, particularly rainfall, is large. This variability can be manifest regionally as severe droughts on yearly time-scales or as more prolonged desiccation over one or more decades. The nature of future climate change for Africa is not known with any great confidence. Climate change scenarios have been constructed here in a systematic manner making clear their assumptions and uncertainties, but it remains impossible to attach specific probabilities to them. There is a paucity of detailed climate change impact case studies for Africa. The level of vulnerability of African societies to climate change depends on their present-day vulnerability which is determined by their economic, political and institutional capabilities. Future demographic changes in Africa and the development path the continent pursues will determine the eventual significance of global warming for Africa. The scope for alternative African emissions trajectories to significantly alter global warming rates over the next 100 yr is very limited. -from Authors
The aim of this study was to investigate the types of cooking fuels and factors that influence their choice by households in Nigeria. Cross national data used were extracted from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) on households' cooking energy and was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that 55% of sampled households have access to electricity, while about two-third (66.3%) of households depend on biomass as fuel for cooking. The Chi-square analysis revealed that a significant statistical relationship existed between geo-political regions, place of residence, access to electricity, educational level, and wealth index and type of cooking used. Results also showed significant statistical differences between rural and urban households' type of cooking fuel while analysis of variance found significant differences in the type of cooking fuel according to regions, educational level, and wealth index. Multiple regression results demonstrated that socio-economic factors such as household size, geographical region, place of residence, educational level and wealth index have a significant positive influence on the type of cooking fuel used by households in Nigeria. However, access to electricity showed no significant association with the household type of cooking fuel. These results have important implications for human health and environmental sustainability, and therefore it was recommended that government needs to intensify educational efforts towards enlightening people about the need for the sustainable utilization of energy resources.
At the request of the Angolan government in 2005, the IEA conducted a survey of the Angolan energy sector and energy policies. This resulting report on Angola focuses on areas for priority action and hones in on energy subsectors likely to play the largest role in meeting domestic demand for modern energy services: notably electricity and oil products. As biomass currently plays an immense role in meeting the bulk of the energy needs of Angolan households, this sub-sector is also featured, with emphasis on improving the sustainability of this renewable energy source. This study offers a realistic update on Angola's present day energy situation and identifies the main priorities which could form the basis of an effective overall energy strategy. It also provides lessons that could be applicable in many other developing countries.
Biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal contributes over 90% of Malawi's total energy demand. As a result, deforestation is increasing at unprecedented rate threatening firewood supply. Individual assessment of various cooking technologies has been widely studied without comparing among cooking technologies. This study compares the performance of the three-stone fireplace, Rocket stove and Chitetezo stove cooking technologies in Malawi. We use Specific Fuel consumption (SC) as a proxy for principal indicator of technology efficiency. The finding reveals that Rocket stove uses less time, less fuelwood and produces less smoke.