LPG fuel subsidies in Latin America and the use of solid fuels to cook

Abstract

The use of solid fuels (USF) for cooking is a key environmental health risk factor, affecting more than 2.8 billion people globally. The Sustainable /Development Goal seven (SDG7) aspires to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. This will require transition toward modern cooking fuels such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electricity. In Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC), 90 million people still rely on solid fuels for cooking. Access and price have been identified as the main factors that limit substitution of solid fuels by clean fuels.In this paper, we present an exploratory analysis of the effects of subsidy policies for LPG in reducing USF in LAC countries when controlling for indicators of socioeconomic development and urbanization. In LAC, subsidies to LPG have substantially contributed to accelerate the transition from USF to clean fuels for cooking. Targeted subsidies should be considered as a policy option to implement the SDG7 on clean energy. Making clean energy accessible to all has the co-benefits of preventing diseases and premature deaths. Understanding the transition processes from USF to cleaner fuels made by LAC countries can better inform policy making in other regions.