Household cooking fuel estimates at global and country level for 1990 to 2030

Oliver Stoner,Jessica Lewis,Heather Adair-Rohani,Sophie Gumy,Theo Economou,Itzel Lucio Martínez

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26036-x

Abstract

Household air pollution generated from the use of polluting cooking fuels and technologies is a major source of disease and environmental degradation in low- and middle-income countries. Using a novel modelling approach, we provide detailed global, regional and country estimates of the percentages and populations mainly using 6 fuel categories (electricity, gaseous fuels, kerosene, biomass, charcoal, coal) and overall polluting/clean fuel use – from 1990-2020 and with urban/rural disaggregation. Here we show that 53% of the global population mainly used polluting cooking fuels in 1990, dropping to 36% in 2020. In urban areas, gaseous fuels currently dominate, with a growing reliance on electricity; in rural populations, high levels of biomass use persist alongside increasing use of gaseous fuels. Future projections of observed trends suggest 31% will still mainly use polluting fuels in 2030, including over 1 billion people in Sub-Saharan African by 2025.

Highlights

Household air pollution generated from the use of polluting cooking fuels and technologies is a major source of disease and environmental degradation in low- and middle-income countries
Since tracking of “solid fuels” has been replaced with “polluting fuels and technologies”—where polluting fuels consists of unprocessed biomass, charcoal, coal, and kerosene (Fig. 1), and polluting technologies refers to those stoves with emission rates higher than the recommended rates included in World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines
We provide all estimates as Supplementary Data for download: Supplementary Data 1 contains estimates at country level; Supplementary Data 2 contains estimates at Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) region and global levels; and Supplementary Data 3 contains estimates at WHO region level

Summary

Introduction

Household air pollution generated from the use of polluting cooking fuels and technologies is a major source of disease and environmental degradation in low- and middle-income countries. While the aggregate indicators “polluting fuel use” and “clean fuel use” are effective for summarizing and communicating the global extent of polluting cooking, and progress towards global goals, fuel-specific estimates are needed to optimally inform policies and decision-making on how to achieve the greatest reductions in HAP exposure as quickly as possible. These data in combination with local expert knowledge on challenges of affordability, availability, infrastructure, and cultural preferences are critical to maximizing the health benefits from the clean cooking transition. Fuel-specific estimates are desirable to refine estimates of HAP exposure and health burdens at regional, country level, and sub-national levels, fully taking into account the varying harm and types of pollution associated with different fuels (notably, carbon monoxide is currently absent from burden of disease calculations10)

Methods

Results

Conclusion