[Stoves] Interesting World Bank Report featuring stoves (a Christmas present)

Ronal W. Larson rongretlarson at comcast.net
Wed Dec 24 19:18:31 CST 2014


List,  cc Ms. Pearson

	1.   This is to recommend a 2013 report “On Thin Ice” that I learned about today (and have only skimmed):
	
	2.  Although the above says “World Bank,” the lead author (Pam Pearson) is from a Vermont NGO called ICCI (International Cryosphere Climate Initiative).  There is the usual disclaimer from the World Bank, but the Bank is the distributor, and the Bank clearly had a big input.   ICCI seems to be doing very good climate work. 		

	3.  The benefit to this list is not in how to build better stoves, but rather the benefit comes because the report puts major emphasis (75% of possible benefits to ice preservation?) on improved stoves.  This emphasis, although climate oriented, is not what we talk about on this list (the word “biochar” does not appear once - although I think it could/should have). Rather, it is the ability of some stoves to emit much less black carbon - which of course has a bad influence on ice.

	4.  The reason I say biochar (and TLUDs) should have been mentioned is that only two types of stoves are emphasized by name: fan and pellet stoves.  I believe that the vast majority of fan and pellet stoves do or can make char.  So manufacturers/sellers of char-making stoves in the fan/pellet categories have every right to cite this study as a reason for purchase and support.

	5.  I learned about this report from a very late cite in a different 2014 World Bank study only on biochar and developing countries.  I will report on that new report separately.  The idea of stoves for production of biochar is of course prominent there.  Prior to release of this (second, important) World Bank biochar/stove study, the ICCI group informed its readership of the World Bank’s interest in stoves here.  And the 2014 World Bank biochar study reciprocated at about the same time with its only 2013 cite (and only one 2012 cite - out of many dozens of cites on 14 pages of mostly biochar cites).

	6.  Summing up: the left and right hands of the World Bank have both recently provided very powerful policy support for improved stoves.  The improvements can be tied in both cases to biochar and char-making stoves — although the World Bank / “Ice-ICCI” report never mentions that possibility.  Most curious!

Ron


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20141224/e46a20f5/attachment.html>


More information about the Stoves mailing list