[Stoves] Fwd: WASHplus Weekly: Focus on Household Energy and Climate Change
Josh Kearns
yeah.yeah.right.on at gmail.com
Fri Aug 2 15:10:17 CDT 2013
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From: WASHplus <dacampbell at fhi360.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 2, 2013 at 6:36 AM
Subject: WASHplus Weekly: Focus on Household Energy and Climate Change
To: Josh Kearns <joshua.kearns at colorado.edu>
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WASHplus Weekly]
Issue 110 August 2, 2013 | Household Energy and Climate Change
This issue focuses on cookstoves and climate change. Improperly
designed cookstoves can contribute to Black Carbon (BC) emissions.
According to a recent EPA report, there is a general consensus within the
scientific community that BC is contributing to climate change at both the
global and regional levels. The main sources of BC are open burning of
biomass, diesel engines, and the residential burning of solid fuels such as
coal, wood, dung, and agricultural residues. The Institute for Governance &
Sustainable Development states that BC causes warming primarily in the
regions where it is emitted, and therefore merits analysis and solutions at
the local scale. The ability of BC to absorb light energy and its role in
key atmospheric processes link it to a range of climate impacts, including
increased temperatures, accelerated ice and snow melt, and disruptions to
precipitation patterns. Recent estimates of black carbon’s radiative
forcing confirm that it is the second leading cause of global warming after
CO2. BC is especially important because it is a short-lived climate forcer,
meaning it has a relatively short life span; it remains in the air for mere
weeks, unlike CO2, which can remain in the atmosphere for centuries. As
such, reducing BC emissions has an immediate impact on climate warming.
*RECENT EVENTS*
- *July 22-25, 2013 – Meeting of International Working Group of the
Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).*
(Link)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=8ff603fc1b&e=33017e2e30>
Efforts to reduce emissions of so-called short lived climate pollutants
(SLCPs) were given a boost at an international meeting in Mexico City.
Members of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition approved multi-million
dollar funding to support the more widespread take-up of high quality clean
cookstoves that also cut soot or black carbon emissions. Cutting emissions
of SLCPs like black carbon, methane and gases could cut the rate of global
warming by up to 0.5 degrees C, save millions of lives and reduce crop
losses by over 30 million tons a year.
- *July 10-12, 2013 – Nepal Alliance for Clean Cookstoves: Clean
Cookstoves Marketplace 2013*. (Background
paper)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=42b22ce6e4&e=33017e2e30>|
Presentations<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=e93c2562a2&e=33017e2e30>|
The background paper shows there are huge opportunities for all
different public and private sector actors in capturing the business and
developmental opportunities in Nepal’s shift towards clean cooking
solutions. Some segments need a higher level of private sector involvement
from day one while others will require a more gradual involvement as
awareness and capacity building and other enabling environment is created
with public funding, until the segment becomes attractive enough for
private sector participation with decreasing level of public funding.
*JOURNAL ARTICLES*
- *Approaches to Economic Empowerment of Rural Women for Climate Change
Mitigation and Adaptation: Implications for Policy**. IJAAR (1) 2013*.
E Ajani. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=a731e7f199&e=33017e2e30>
This paper addresses the economic empowerment of rural women for climate
change mitigation and adaptation. Economic empowerment of women involves
having access to quality education, organizing training programs to
sensitize the rural women on the use of drought-resistant crop varieties,
pests and diseases resistant crop varieties, crop diversification to guard
against crop failure, use of energy-efficient cooking stoves, among others.
The study recommends that measures to promote the economic participation of
women can be integrated into climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
- *Bounding the Role of Black Carbon in the Climate System: A Scientific
Assessment*. *Jnl of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, June 2013*. T
Bond. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=a559b39cb1&e=33017e2e30>
The uncertainties in net climate forcing from black-carbon-rich sources
are substantial, largely due to lack of knowledge about cloud interactions
with both black carbon and co-emitted organic carbon. In prioritizing
potential black-carbon mitigation actions, non-science factors, such as
technical feasibility, costs, policy design, and implementation feasibility
play important roles. The major sources of black carbon are presently in
different stages with regard to the feasibility for near-term mitigation.
This assessment, by evaluating the large number and complexity of the
associated physical and radiative processes in black-carbon climate
forcing, sets a baseline from which to improve future climate forcing
estimates.
- *Cleaner Cooking Solutions to Achieve Health, Climate, and Economic
Cobenefits*. *Env Sci Technol, Apr 2013*. S Anenberg. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=a298e95a05&e=33017e2e30>
The impact of cleaner cooking solutions on fuel use and air pollutant
emissions varies by fuel type, stove design, cooking practice, and
environmental conditions. Recent studies have found that many of the stoves
on the market reduce fuel use by 30 to 60%. Less fuel use can lead to
transformative benefits: less burden for women or more income for families
and less risk of violence for women and girls as they collect fuel in
certain insecure areas. Reduced fuel use due to increased heat transfer
efficiency can also mean fewer emissions of air pollutants that affect health
and climate and reduced impacts on forests, habitats, and biodiversity.
- *Climate’s Dark Forcings*. *Science, Apr 2013*. M Andreae. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=2f88a1cf5f&e=33017e2e30>
The magnitude of global warming from black carbon has been the subject
of intense debate. A recent comprehensive assessment synthesized available
model results and observations, and proposed a “best estimate” for BC's
global climate forcing. Unlike greenhouse gases, BC is not a single,
chemically defined substance with constant physical properties. In addition
to the aggregates of nanometer-scale carbon spherules traditionally thought
of as BC, the atmosphere contains light-absorbing organic or “brown” carbon
(BrC). BrC may account for 15 to 50% of light absorption in the atmosphere
and in snow and ice and has different optical properties and source and
sink patterns from BC. In addition to combustion sources, especially
biomass burning, BrC is also produced by atmospheric chemical reactions, a
source not considered in emission inventories.
- *Household Air Pollution in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Health
Risks and Research Priorities*. *PLoS Med, 10(6) 2013*. W Martin. (Full
text)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=8422ec3c16&e=33017e2e30>
Traditional methods of cooking and heating have been used for many
generations and are adapted to local dietary, environmental, and cultural
needs. Household fuel combustion contributes to outdoor air pollution and
climate change and, in some regions, fuel-gathering for inefficient stoves
contributes to environmental degradation, including deforestation and
desertification.
- *Indoor Air Pollution and Child Health in India**. Child Poverty
Insights, June 2013*. UNICEF. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=577f684a5d&e=33017e2e30>
In India indoor air pollution is among the most serious threats to the
health of children under age five. The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI) has actively highlighted the risks associated with indoor air
pollution and advocated the adoption of cleaner and sustainable
alternatives. Nearly 82% of pregnant women in rural India are exposed to
biomass-related indoor air pollution, which increases the risk of low birth
weight. India derives the bulk of its cooking energy needs from biomass
solid fuels, such as twigs, wood, shrubs, crop residue or cow dung and
utilize crude combustion apparatus cook stoves. The burning of biomass
fuels releases various indoor air pollutants, like particulate matter,
carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.
- *Real-Time Assessment of Black Carbon Pollution in Indian Households
Due to Traditional and Improved Biomass Cookstoves*. *Env Sci Technol,
Feb 2012*. A Kar.
(Abstract)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=bd9d9e1ffb&e=33017e2e30>
Use of improved (biomass) cookstoves (ICs) has been widely proposed as a
Black Carbon (BC) mitigation measure with significant climate and health
benefits. ICs encompass a range of technologies, including natural draft
stoves, which feature structural modifications to enhance air flow, and
forced draft stoves, which additionally employ an external fan to force air
into the combustion chamber. Project Surya, conducted the first real-time
in situ BC concentration measurements from five commercial ICs and a
traditional (mud) cookstove for comparison. These experiments reveal four
significant findings about the tested stoves.
- *Tackling the Health Burden from Household Air Pollution (HAP):
Development and Implementation of New WHO Guidelines*. *Air Quality and
Climate Change, 47(1) 2013*. N Bruce. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=b075f46330&e=33017e2e30>
Patterns of household fuel use can have negative impacts on safety,
prospects for poverty reduction and the environment, including climate
change. Building on previous air quality guidelines, the WHO is developing
new guidelines focused on household fuel combustion, covering cooking,
heating and lighting. As discussed in this paper, currently in development,
the guidelines will include reviews of a wide range of evidence including
fuel use in homes, emissions from stoves and lighting, household air
pollution and exposure levels experienced by populations, health risks,
impacts of interventions on HAP and exposure, and also key factors
influencing sustainable and equitable adoption of improved stoves and
cleaner fuels.
- *Transforming Household Energy Practices to Reduce Climate Risks:
Charcoal Use in Lusaka, Zambia**. Boiling Point, July 2013*. A
Atteridge. (Full
text)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=edbec36714&e=33017e2e30>
Finding ways to reduce charcoal use can reduce the probable impacts of
climate change for poor communities. Transforming energy markets for the
poor is never easy, as decades of unsuccessful cookstove interventions can
attest to. However, by better understanding what households want and need
it is possible to identify a number of policy and technical solutions that
could change behavior at scale. These include improved cookstoves that have
a greater resemblance to the existing mbaula stoves and are locally
produced, simple solar water heating devices, as well as electricity price
re-structuring to lower tariffs for the poor.
*REPORTS*
- *Assessing the Climate Impacts of Cookstove Projects: Issues in
Emissions Accounting*, 2013. C Lee. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=602f18a881&e=33017e2e30>
An estimated 2.6 billion people rely on traditional biomass for home
cooking and heating, so improving the efficiency of household cookstoves
could provide significant environmental, social and economic benefits. Some
researchers have estimated that potential greenhouse gas emission
reductions could exceed 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
per year. This paper evaluates the quantification approaches to three key
variables in calculating emission impacts: biomass fuel consumption,
fraction of non-renewable biomass, and emission factors for fuel
consumption.
- *Energy Access and Biomass Resource Transitions in Malawi Policy Brief*,
2013. Stockholm Environment Institute. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=7c2344b82a&e=33017e2e30>
Energy access and associated economic development goals in Malawi are
threatened by the tremendous pressure on forest resources, which will
require, first and foremost increasing agricultural productivity. Other
important measures include use of improved cookstoves and fuel-switching in
the household energy sector. Synergies between expanded biofuels
production and reduction in traditional biomass use could be explored
through fuel substitution in cooking, heating and lighting for households
and small enterprises. Such synergies would promote low-carbon pathways
while also improving energy access and stimulating agricultural and rural
development.
- *Indonesia: Toward Universal Access to Clean Cooking, 2013.* World
Bank. (Full text)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=ffd00f813c&e=33017e2e30>
The main disadvantages of biomass energy for cooking using primitive
cookstoves are linked to incomplete fuel combustion. Indoor emissions from
traditional biomass cookstoves are responsible for about 165,000 premature
deaths—mainly those of women and children—each year in Indonesia. In
addition, in areas where demand for biomass fuels exceeds sustainable
supply, fuelwood collection can lead to deforestation, land degradation,
and desertification. Yet under conditions of sustainable production and
more efficient fuel use, biomass energy is a renewable resource that is
affordable to the poor. Biomass fuels are abundant in Indonesia, can be
burned without further processing, and are cheaper than most alternative
fuels. If used in an efficient and clean way, biomass stoves could
contribute significantly to the country’s green growth agenda.
- *Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants*, 2013. Institute for
Governance & Sustainable Development. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=10837bd496&e=33017e2e30>
Black carbon is a potent climate-forcing aerosol that remains in the
atmosphere for only a few days or weeks. It is a component of soot and is a
product of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and
biomass. Black carbon contributes to climate change in several ways: it
warms the atmosphere directly by absorbing solar radiation and emitting it
as heat, it contributes to melting by darkening the surfaces of ice and
snow when it is deposited on them, and it can also affect the microphysical
properties of clouds in a manner than can perturb precipitation patterns.
Recent estimates of black carbon’s radiative forcing confirm that it is the
second leading cause of global warming.
- *Use of Bochar for Soil Health Management and Greenhouse Gas
Mitigation in India: Potential and Constraints*, 2013. C Srinivasarao. (Full
text, pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=f62d972901&e=33017e2e30>
Several studies across the world have established that biochar
application increases conventional agricultural productivity and mitigates
greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils. However, to promote the
application of biochar as a soil amendment and also as a climate change
abatement option, research, development and demonstration on biochar
production and application is very vital. It is necessary to develop
low-cost biochar kilns to make the technology affordable to small and
marginal farmers. Further, inter-disciplinary and location-specific
research has to be taken up for studying the long term impact of biochar
application on soil physical properties, nutrient availability, soil
microbial activities, carbon sequestration potential, crop productivity,
and greenhouse gas mitigation.
- *What Have We Learned about Household Biomass Cooking in Central
America?* 2013. World Bank. (Full text,
pdf)<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=ed819e3070&e=33017e2e30>
This study finds that the use of biomass for cooking in the region will
likely continue to be significant for a long time due to population growth,
high incidence of poverty, high prices for household gas—liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG)—coupled with unsustainable LPG subsidies, as well as
relatively easy access to fuelwood in the region. Useful lessons can be
learned from the last decade of experience in Central America and other
regions in promoting improved stoves. Providing households with clean and
efficient cooking solutions is not just an energy issue, but touches on
poverty, gender inequality, public health, environmental sustainability,
climate change, agriculture, and local employment.
*WASHplus Weeklies* will highlight topics such as Urban WASH, Indoor Air
Quality, Innovation, Household Water Treatment and Storage, Handwashing,
Integration, and more. If you would like to feature your organization's
materials in upcoming issues, please send them to Dan Campbell, WASHplus
Knowledge Resources Specialist, at dacampbell at fhi360.org. [image:
USAID] *About WASHplus - *WASHplus, a five-year project funded
through USAID’s Bureau for Global Health, supports healthy households and
communities by creating and delivering interventions that lead to
improvements in access, practice and health outcomes related to water,
sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and indoor air pollution (IAP). WASHplus uses
at-scale, targeted as well as integrated approaches to reduce diarrheal
diseases and acute respiratory infections, the two top killers of children
under five years of age globally. For information, visit
www.washplus.org<http://washplus.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed50820bda89f8241498bf4db&id=d39d042c6c&e=33017e2e30>or
email:
contact at washplus.org*. *
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WASHplus · 1825 connecticut ave nw · washington, dc 20005
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Josh Kearns
PhD Candidate, Environmental Engineering
University of Colorado-Boulder
Visiting Researcher, North Carolina State University
Director of Science
Aqueous Solutions
www.aqsolutions.org
Mobile: 720 989 3959
Skype: joshkearns
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