Cleaner and more efficient cooking

More than 2 billion people in 128 countries around the globe rely on inefficient, carbon-burning stoves to cook their food on a regular basis. These stoves burn firewood, charcoal, kerosene, or coal, and they require a large amount of fuel to cook food because most of that fuel’s energy is lost in the process. Burning organic matter releases its carbon content back into the atmosphere, so the more fuel that’s used, the more CO2 is released.

Additionally, fuel generated by cutting down trees to use as firewood or charcoal releases even more — which means greater pressure towards local deforestation to meet the community’s needs for cooking fuel. Traditional cookstoves emit an estimated two to six tonnes of CO2 annually. Decarbonizing home cooking with cleaner and more efficient cookstoves can reduce those emissions by up to 1.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030 — equal to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by planes and ships globally in 2023.

Cookstove projects target carbon-intensive cooking in regions where people traditionally cook on stoves that require more fuel. By replacing these inefficient stoves, cookstove projects lower those emissions by burning less or using a different kind of fuel. Improved stoves result in emission reductions that can reduce pressure on forests or reduce dependence on fossil fuels.