News

Unlocking Clean Cooking and Heating Solutions Key to Reaching Sustainable Energy Goals
May 26 2015

Nearly 2.9 billion people – more than India and China put together—still use polluting fuels like wood and coal to cook and heat their homes, at a huge cost to the society, in terms of health, environmental and economic costs, estimated at over US$123 billion every year. These numbers underline the urgent need to accelerate the adoption of clean, efficient cooking fuels, which can save millions of lives and help reach sustainable energy goals by 2030, according to a new report.

 

For the last four years, an international effort led by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, with participation from the World Bank and other international organizations, has been working to help 100 million households worldwide adopt clean and efficient cooking solutions. The partnership is focusing on private sector capacity building, fostering enabling markets, policy change and addressing barriers by region and segment.

 

The World Bank ESMAP Program and teh Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves have released, at the second Sustainable Energy for All Forum in New York on May 19, a joint report which comes at a time when the world is striving to achieve three sustainable energy goals—universal access to energy, doubling of renewable energy share, and doubling the gains of energy efficiency. Access to clean, efficient cooking fuels and devices is one of the main priorities of the push towards universal energy access.