Who adopts improved fuels and cookstoves? A systematic review.

The study evaluated the use and determinants of households’ adoption of biomass improved cook stove in Nigeria. Enugu was chosen for the study. Structured questionnaire were used to collect the required data. Using a multi stage sampling techniques, a total of 160 households were selected. Findings reveal that majority (23.12%) of the household heads were within the age range of 31-40 years, 68.10% were married and 56.90% were female, while 86% attended school, 61% had other occupations other than farming, 59% had 0-10 years farming experience and 85% had monthly income of between N 1000 to N 50,000. About 68% of the households use one form of locally fabricated improved cook stove or the other. The different kinds of improved cook stove used are iron bucket stove (33.03%), saw dust stove (39.45%), U shaped mud stove (17.43%), jiko and mirt stove (10.09%). The study found age, gender, educational level, household size and income to be statistically significant as determinants of adoption of ICS. Some of the problems inhibiting the adoption of modern improved cook stove are lack of availability, lack of awareness and high cost. We recommend that stoves should be made available and affordable.

Background: In the short/ medium term, ICS offer the best opportunity for reducing HAP, but due to ICS design, household and cultural differences there is much variability in HAP exposure. Aim: To systematically synthesise evidence describing the impact of ICS interventions (biomass and clean fuels) on HAP exposure. Methods: A systematic review (published and grey literature) and meta-analyses of ICS interventions in low/ middle income countries to estimate “real-life” effectiveness in terms of HAP reductions. Standard review methodology (search, extraction and quality) appraised studies of the impact of ICS on HAP (carbon monoxide (CO) and respirable particulate matter (RPM)). Absolute mean differences (24hr) in kitchen and personal exposure were assessed using meta-analysis for ICS with and without chimneys, advanced combustion, mixed interventions, ethanol fuel and gas. Sensitivity analysis considered duration of intervention and study design. Results were compared to WHO AQG IT-1 level for PM2.5 and COppm. Results: There was much heterogeneity in HAP exposure between and within ICS groups. For kitchen HAP, pooled reductions for ICS with chimneys (21 studies; 24 estimates) were -0.50 mg/m3 (95% CI -0.64; -0.35) for RPM and -5.4 ppm (95% CI -7.3, -3.6) for CO; for ICS without chimneys (5 studies; 7 estimates) reductions were -0.26 mg/m3 (95% CI -0.39, -0.12) for RPM and -3.4 ppm (95%CI -4.8, -2.0) for CO; for advanced combustion ICS (3 studies and estimates) reductions were -0.22 mg/m3 (95% CI -0.38; -0.06) for RPM and -3.16 ppm (95%CI -5.59, -0.73) for CO; for ethanol ICS (2 studies; 4 estimates) reductions were -0.58 mg/m3 (95% CI -0.92, -0.24), for RPM and -21.9 ppm (95% CI -27.4, -16.5) for CO. For mixed ICS (2 studies) and LPG (1 study) lack of data precluded meta-analysis. For personal HAP, pooled reductions could only be calculated for ICS with chimneys (6 estimates); RPM -0.15 mg/m3 (95% CI -0.24, -0.06) and CO -1.4 ppm (95% CI -2.0, -0.9). Sensitivity analysis did not effect pooled estimates. Conclusions: Whilst the majority of ICS were still well above WHO AQG IT-1 levels for PM2.5 many were below new guidelines for 24hr COppm.

Improved cook stoves (ICS) have been widely touted for their potential to deliver the triple benefits of improved household health and time savings, reduced deforestation and local environmental degradation, and reduced emissions of black carbon, a significant short-term contributor to global climate change. Yet diffusion of ICS technologies among potential users in many low-income settings, including India, remains slow, despite decades of promotion. This paper explores the variation in perceptions of and preferences for ICS in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as revealed through a series of semi-structured focus groups and interviews from 11 rural villages or hamlets. We find cautious interest in new ICS technologies, and observe that preferences for ICS are positively related to perceptions of health and time savings. Other respondent and community characteristics, e.g., gender, education, prior experience with clean stoves and institutions promoting similar technologies, and social norms as perceived through the actions of neighbours, also appear important. Though they cannot be considered representative, our results suggest that efforts to increase adoption and use of ICS in rural India will likely require a combination of supply-chain improvements and carefully designed social marketing and promotion campaigns, and possibly incentives, to reduce the up-front cost of stoves.

Improved cook stove adoption and impact assessment: A proposed methodology

Preferences for Improved Cook Stoves: Evidence from North Indian Villages

The challenge of promoting access to clean and efficient household energy for cooking and heating is a critical issue facing low- and middle-income countries today. Along with clean fuels, improved cookstoves (ICSs) continue to play an important part in efforts to reduce the 4 million annual premature deaths attributed to household air pollution. Although a range of ICSs are available, there is little empirical evidence on appropriate behavior change approaches to inform adoption and sustained used at scale. Specifically, evaluations using either quantitative or qualitative methods provide an incomplete picture of the challenges in facilitating ICS adoption. This article examines how studies that use the strengths of both these approaches can offer important insights into behavior change in relation to ICS uptake and scale-up. Epistemological approaches, study design frameworks, methods of data collection, analytical approaches, and issues of validity and reliability in the context of mixed methods ICS research are examined, and the article presents an example study design from an evaluation study in Kenya incorporating a nested approach and a convergent case oriented design. The authors discuss the benefits and methodological challenges of mixed-methods approaches in the context of researching behavior change and ICS use recognizing that such methods represent relatively uncharted territory. The authors propose that more published examples are needed to provide frameworks for other researchers seeking to apply mixed methods in this context and suggest a comprehensive research agenda is required that incorporates integrated mixed-methods approaches, to provide best evidence for future scale-up.

Do improved cookstoves save time and improve gender outcomes? Evidence from six developing countries

Preferences for improved cook stoves: Evidence from rural villages in north India

Women exposure to household air pollution after an improved cookstove program in rural San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Use of biomass fuel in traditional cooking stoves (TCS) is a long-established practice that has incomplete combustion and generates substances with global warming potential (GWP). Improved cooking stoves (ICS) have been developed worldwide as an alternative household fuel burning device, as well as a climate change mitigation. A study was conducted among female Forest User Groups (FUGs) of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh, to assess the status of ICS disseminated by the Forest Department (FD) under the Nishorgo (2009) Support Project, along with the community's biomass fuel consumption pattern. Wood consumption was highest (345 kg month−1 household−1) followed by agricultural residues (60 kg month−1 household−1), tree leaves (51 kg month−1 household−1) and cow dung (25 kg month−1 household−1). Neighbouring forests of the sanctuary was the core source for wood fuel, with little or no reduction in the extraction even after joining the FUG. Twenty-two species, both indigenous and introduced, were preferred as wood fuel. None of the respondents were found willing to use ICS although 43% owned one; either as a status symbol or to meet the conditions of the FD for membership in FUG. Seven negative features of the disseminated ICS were identified by households, which made them unwilling to use them further. Manufacturing faults may be responsible for some ICS demerits, while the FD failed to convince the community of the benefits. A proper examination of the disseminated ICS efficacy is crucial, with active involvement of community members. The Sustainable Energy Triangle Strategy (SETS) could be implemented for this purpose. Findings of the study are of immense importance in designing a strategy for the introduction of ICS into Bangladesh.

The adoption of clean energy (electricity and gas) for domestic purposes has increased over the decades, yet the share of clean energy in total energy consumption remains low. Therefore, this study analyses seven rounds of HIES surveys in Pakistan collected between 2001 to 2019 to understand the energy use patterns and why clean fuel consumption is low among households that have already adopted clean energy. To this end, the present study applied the Probit and Tobit models to examine the determinants of using different fuel types and their consumption intensity. The results show that female-headed households are more likely to adopt and consume more clean fuels such as electricity and gas. Moreover, education, wealth, and urban location have a positive association with clean fuel adoption and consumption. The study also finds that age and household size have a non-linear impact on clean fuel consumption intensity. The study recommends policies to achieve SDG 7 by improving accessibility and affordability by increasing income and the supply of clean fuel. Further, it emphasizes enhancing the knowledge about the benefit of using clean energy through education programs.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-023-27227-3.

Sustainable energy development strategies in the rural Thailand: The case of the improved cooking stove and the small biogas digester

Improved cookstoves (ICS) can deliver "triple wins" by improving household health, local environments, and global climate. Yet their potential is in doubt because of low and slow diffusion, likely because of constraints imposed by differences in culture, geography, institutions, and missing markets. We offer insights about this challenge based on a multiyear, multiphase study with nearly 1,000 households in the Indian Himalayas. In phase I, we combined desk reviews, simulations, and focus groups to diagnose barriers to ICS adoption. In phase II, we implemented a set of pilots to simulate a mature market and designed an intervention that upgraded the supply chain (combining marketing and home delivery), provided rebates and financing to lower income and liquidity constraints, and allowed households a choice among ICS. In phase III, we used findings from these pilots to implement a field experiment to rigorously test whether this combination of upgraded supply and demand promotion stimulates adoption. The experiment showed that, compared with zero purchase in control villages, over half of intervention households bought an ICS, although demand was highly price-sensitive. Demand was at least twice as high for electric stoves relative to biomass ICS. Even among households that received a negligible price discount, the upgraded supply chain alone induced a 28 percentage-point increase in ICS ownership. Although the bundled intervention is resource-intensive, the full costs are lower than the social benefits of ICS promotion. Our findings suggest that market analysis, robust supply chains, and price discounts are critical for ICS diffusion.

Use of biomass fuel in traditional cooking stove (TCS) is the long-established practice that exhibits incomplete combustion and generates substances with global warming potential (GWP). Improved cooking stove (ICS) has been developed worldwide as an alternative household fuel burning device, a climate change mitigation strategy as well. A study was conducted in the female Forest User Groups (FUGs) of Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh to assess the status of ICS disseminated by the Forest Department (FD) under Nishorgo Support Project along with the community’s biomass fuel consumption pattern. Consumption of wood fuel was highest (345 kg month−1 household−1) followed by agricultural residues (60 kg month−1 household−1), tree-leaves (51 kg month−1 household−1) and cow-dung (25 kg month−1 household−1). Neighboring forest of the sanctuary was revealed as the core source for wood fuel with little or no reduction in the extraction even after joining the FUG. Twenty two species, both indigenous and introduced, were found in preference for wood fuel by the community. None of the respondents were found willing to use ICS although 43 % of them owned it; either as the status symbol or to meet the condition of the FD to continue membership in FUG. Seven negative features of the disseminated ICS were identified by the households that made them unwilling to use it further. Manufacturing faults may be responsible for the ICS’s demerits and FD’s negligence was liable to the failure of convincing the community. A proper examination of the disseminated ICS’s efficacy is crucial with active involvement of the community members. The Sustainable Energy Triangle Strategy (SETS) could be implemented for this purpose. Findings of the study would be of immense importance in designing the strategy for the introduction of ICS in Bangladesh.

Nepal is one of the lowest energy consuming countries in the world. More than 85 percent of its total energy comes from traditional biomass energy such as forests, agricultural residues and by-products from crops. Due to increasing per capita energy consumption, natural resources are being depleted with heavy emissions of GHGs in the atmosphere, which causes global warming. The main objective of the study was to investigate current energy consumption practices, to estimate particulate matter and carbon emissions from current practices and to recommend the most suitable alternative energy technologies. The fieldwork was based on primary and secondary data with a design methodology. Firewood burning was found to be the major source of energy used for cooking purposes in Samagaun. The use of this traditional fuel has negative environmental implications, such as deforestation, indoor air pollution and it ultimately affects human health. The results show that traditional cooking stoves (TCS) are used more than improved cooking stoves (ICS). The total amount of firewood used per day by TCS is 2135 kg/day, and by ICS it is 349 kg/day. The average amount of firewood consumed by traditional and improved cooking stoves per day is 62.79 kg and 43.63 kg, respectively. The annual per capita firewood consumption of TCS and ICS is 4401.9 kg and 3266.7 kg, respectively. The calculation shows that per capita firewood consumption by TCS users is 1.3 times higher than that of ICS users. The annual per capita carbon emissions from TCS and ICS is 8055.47 kg CO2e and 5978.15 kg CO2e, respectively. This calculation shows that ICS emits 1.3 times less CO2 into the atmosphere than the TCS. The average mean particulate concentration at normal atmospheric conditions for a traditional cooking stove was found to be 2866 μg/Nm3 and for an improved cooking stove 1333 μg/Nm3, both of which far exceed the national standard of 230 μg/m3 TSP. Based on the study results, metallic improved cooking stoves could be recommended as the best alternative energy technology in the study area.