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Abstract
The major objective of this study is to identify and analyze cultural and economic barriers to sustained adoption of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) as the primary clean cooking energy in India, and examining underpinning values and norms in socio-technical energy system of the country. In 2016, the Government of India introduced a mega scheme called Ujjwala for clean cooking energy with LPG connects in women’s name. This policy, however, experienced limited implementation, but did lead to enhancing women’s agency in many areas. Women’s agency is defined briefly as their ability to set goals, develop capacities, and act on their defined goals to realize desired outcomes in wellbeing and capabilities. In the case of switching to clean cooking energy, the question can be posed as: as women are the ones who carry out most of the onerous work of collecting and cooking with wood, are they able to make decisions on the adoption of clean cooking fuel, that enhance their agency and the wellbeing of their families? Male-centred cultural and economic norms can be changed by the exercise of women’s agency, when (1) women have unmediated asset ownership rights to land, houses, and energy technology; (2) they are organized in groups for earning cash incomes and energy access; (3) they have acquired new knowledge, skills, and finances to acquire and operate new technologies; and (4) women have experienced the effects of policy change addressing gendered norms.
Highlights
Across the world, close to 3 billion people, largely women in indigenous and other rural areas, are dependent on solid biomass fuel for cooking and space heating [1]
Our checklist for the households included 10 questions: (1) dealing with description of the area, village, block, and the district; (2) When a particular household received the LPG connection under Ujjwala; (3) was the LPG used for primary cooking; (4) What were the health problems experienced due to cooking with wood; (5) What problems the women faced in obtaining cylinder refills; (6) Who decides on buying a cylinder; (7) Who pays for the cylinder; (8) How did the women cover the cost of cylinders and its refills; (9) Does she Energies 2021, 14, 7242 have income of her own; (10) The benefits of cooking with LPG, in terms of better health or the opportunity to rest and take care of herself and children
In the case of the adoption of clean cooking energy, the question can be posed as: women are the ones who carry out most of the onerous work of collecting and cooking with wood, are they able to take decisions on the adoption of clean cooking fuel, that enhance the well-being of themselves and their families? Below we look at this question in the varied contexts of our field sites
Summary
Close to 3 billion people, largely women in indigenous and other rural areas, are dependent on solid biomass fuel for cooking and space heating [1]. Burning these solid fuels has serious health implications, resulting in close to 4.6 million deaths each year from causes attributable to household air pollution [2]. In India, over 50 percent of rural households use solid biomass as the primary cooking fuel, as reported in NSS, 76th. The adverse health impact associated with the use of solid biomass for cooking is estimated to be 1.2 million deaths in India each year as stated by Clean Cooking. Issues of gender justice have recently been prioritized in energy research
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