The use of open fires and solid fuels for cooking is one of the world’s most pressing health and environmental problems, directly impacting close to half the world’s population and causing nearly 4 million premature deaths each year. Women and children are disproportionally affected by this massive global challenge, suffering from toxic smoke, time poverty, and consequences of deteriorating environments.
CLEAN COOKING AS A KEY DRIVER OF SDG SUCCESS
By developing a thriving global market for clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels, we can transform the way the world cooks, saving lives, improving livelihoods, empowering women, and protecting the environment simultaneously. With a continued focus and targeted implementation efforts, clean cooking can directly deliver gains across 10 of the SDGs and contribute to an enabling environment for achieving the entire Agenda 2030, including
Goal 1 – End Poverty
Clean cooking is part of the basic services necessary to lead a healthy and productive life and saves households time and money.
Goal 2- No Hunger
Efficient cook stoves reduce the amount of fuel needed to cook, thus reducing the burden on families who would otherwise have to collect it, buy it, or trade their food for it.
Goal 3 – Good health and Well being
Reducing smoke emissions from cooking decreases the burden of disease associated with household air pollution and improves well-being, especially for women and children.
Goal 4 – Quality Education
Children, particularly girls, are often kept out of school so that they can contribute to household tasks, like cooking and collecting fuel. On average, women and girls can spend up to 10 hours per week collecting fuel for cooking, taking away time that could be spent going to school or studying.
Goal 5 – Gender Equality Unpaid work, including collecting fuel and cooking, remains a major cause of gender inequality. Women and girls, who often spend hours inhaling toxic fumes, are also disproportionately affected by the negative health impacts of cooking with inefficient stoves and fuels
Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy
Clean cooking is essential to addressing energy poverty and ensuring sustainable energy security for billions of people.
Goal 8 – Decent work and Economic Growth
Energy access enables enhanced productivity and inclusive economic growth. The clean cooking sector offers many job opportunities
Goal 11 – Sustainable cities and Communities
Clean cooking addresses household and ambient air pollution, resource efficiency, and climate vulnerability.
Goal 13 – Climate change
Up to 58% of black carbon emissions come from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating in homes. Clean cooking solutions address the most basic needs of the poor, while also delivering climate benefits.
Goal 15 – Life and land Up to 34% of wood fuel harvested is unsustainable, contributing to forest degradation, deforestation, and climate change.
