Learn about Improved Cookstoves

Globally, open-fire cooking causes up to 3.2 million premature deaths annually and over 16% of ambient air pollution. This translates to 1.9 – 2.3% of global emissions. The burning of wood fuels for cooking is a major contributor to global warming, costing the world more than USD2.4 trillion in damage to the climate and local economies. A solution comes in the form of clean cooking using Improved Cookstoves. Quality credits of this nature are now available on CIX Marketplace.  

Despite current efforts to scale access to clean cooking, and at the current trajectory, 2 billion people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, will still lack access to clean cooking by 2030. These communities depend heavily on traditional methods of cooking. This throws a significant headwind for the world to achieve global development and climate goals. The level of funding in the clean cooking sector today is insufficient relative to the global magnitude of the problem. Investment is currently at USD130 million, well below the requirement of USD4.5 billion needed annually by 2030. Hence, there is an overwhelming need to scale the market, creating greater access and adoption of the solution – Improved Cookstoves. 

Improved Cookstoves is an engineered solution that addresses the inefficiencies and polluting nature of open fire cooking. Its efficiency is significantly better than open-fire cooking and presents multiple tangible benefits – as reflected in the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):  

1. SDG 1 – No Poverty: Time savings can be generated from the use of improved cookstoves. In return, this can then be spent on alternate ways to increase a household’s income. 
2. SDG 2 – Zero Hunger: Improved cookstoves reduce the need for fuel. Hence, reducing the burden on local communities to collect, buy, or trade other resources, such as food, for fuel.
3. SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being:Improved cookstoves reduce one’s exposure to household air pollution. Thus, improving the health conditions of the users.
4. SDG 4 – Quality Education:With the time savings generated from the use of improved cookstoves, children, especially girls, can afford to attend school and spend a longer time there. 
5. SDG 5 – Gender Equality: Improved cookstoves replaces the inefficiencies associated with traditional cooking methods. Hence, reducing the burden of unpaid domestic chores, such as the collection of firewood, that is often delegated to women. 
6. SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: Improved cookstoves are essential to addressing energy poverty and ensuring that sustainable energy security is available for the local communities. 
7. SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: Access to sustainable energy enables enhanced productivity and inclusive economic growth for the local community. The functioning of a global clean cooking sector can also increase the availability of jobs. 
8. SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: The usage of improved cookstoves ensures that household and ambient air pollution is mitigated, reducing the issues of resource scarcity and climate vulnerability. 
9. SDG 13 – Climate Action: Improved cookstoves reduce the prevalence of harmful climate-damaging emissions to the atmosphere. 
10. SDG 15 – Life on Land: Improved cookstoves reduce the amount of wood needed for cooking. Hence, alleviating forest degradation and pressure on forest resources. 

Most importantly, clean cooking serves as an important extension to emissions avoidance and removal from the restoration, conservation, and improved management of natural ecosystems. Transitioning to clean cooking is foundational to safeguarding nature-based solutions and ensuring that they deliver for the climate, the environment, and the people.  

Case Study: BioLite Improved Cook Stoves Programme  

The BioLite Improved Cook Stoves Programme aims to provide 20 million people with access to clean energy through the distribution of more efficient biomass cookstoves. These will substitute the current traditional and inefficient cook stoves in households across India, Kenya, and Uganda. The project is estimated to reduce 3,000,000 tCO2e of emissions over the project’s lifetime of 7 years from 2018 to 2025. 

The BioLite program involves the distribution of BioLite HomeStoves, a fan-assisted wood stove that cuts toxic indoor pollutant emissions by 90% and reduces wood fuel use by 50%. Cleaner and more efficient burning in turn, reduces the risk of respiratory-related illnesses. The HomeStove also performs a dual function of generating electricity from the flames through their patented Direct Conduction Thermoelectric System. Through a day’s cooking, enough electricity is generated to fully charge a mobile phone or to power a LED light for an evening. 

See how a Singapore company used BioLite credits to compensate for carbon emissions at COP27.  

If you are interested in purchasing quality Improved Cookstoves credits, we have the following projects available on CIX Marketplace:

• VCS 2982 – BioLite Improved Cook Stoves Program
• VCS 2357 – Improved Cook Stove Market Development in Rural Nepal

Login to CIX Marketplace or reach out via contact.us@stg-climateimpactxcom-staging.kinsta.cloud to purchase these credits.