Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits?

Floess, E; Grieshop, A; Puzzolo, E; Pope, D; Leach, N; Smith, CJ; Gill-Wiehl, A; Landesman, K; Bailis, R

Climate Research Collection

Journal article

Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits?

Abstract:: Background:Exclusive clean fuel use is essential for realizing health and other benefits but is often unaffordable. Decreasing household-level fuel needs could make exclusive clean fuel use more affordable, but there is a lack of knowledge on the amount of fuel savings that could be achieved through fuel conservation behaviors relevant to rural settings in low- and middle-income countries.Methods:Within a trial in Peru, we trained a random half of intervention participants, who had previously received a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove and were purchasing their own fuel, on fuel conservation strategies. We measured the amount of fuel and mega joules (MJ) of energy consumed by all participants, including control participants who were receiving free fuel from the trial. We administered surveys on fuel conservation behaviors and assigned a score based on the number of behaviors performed.Results:Intervention participants with the training had a slightly higher conservation score than those without (7.2 vs. 6.6 points; p = 0.07). Across all participants, average daily energy consumption decreased by 9.5 MJ for each 1-point increase in conservation score (p < 0.001). Among households who used exclusively LPG (n = 99), each 1-point increase in conservation score was associated with a 0.04 kg decrease in LPG consumption per household per day (p = 0.03). Using pressure cookers and heating water in the sun decreased energy use, while using clay pots and forgetting to close stove knobs increased energy use.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that a household could save 1.16 kg of LPG per month for each additional fuel conservation behavior, for a maximum potential savings of 8.1 kg per month. Fuel conservation messaging could be integrated into national household energy policies to increase the affordability of exclusive clean fuel use, and subsequently achieve the environmental and health benefits that could accompany such a transition.D43 TW011502/TW/FIC NIH HHSUnited States/UF2 CE002402/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/U01 TW010107/TW/FIC NIH HHSUnited States/T32 ES007141/ES/NIEHS NIH HHSUnited States/D43 TW009340/TW/FIC NIH HHSUnited States/T32 HL007534/HL/NHLBI NIH HHSUnited States

Publication status:: Published

Peer review status:: Peer reviewed

Actions

Email

Email this record

Send the bibliographic details of this record to your email address.

Your Email
Please enter the email address that the record information will be sent to.

-
Your message (optional)
Please add any additional information to be included within the email.
Share
Cite

Cite this record

APA Style

Floess, E., Grieshop, A., Puzzolo, E., Pope, D., Leach, N., Smith, C. J., Gill-Wiehl, A., Landesman, K., & Bailis, R. (2023). Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits? Environmental Research Letters, 18(3), 034010–034010.

MLA Style

Floess, E, et al. “Scaling up Gas and Electric Cooking in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Climate Threat or Mitigation Strategy with Co-Benefits?” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 18, no. 3, 2023, pp. 034010–10.

Chicago Style

Floess, E, A Grieshop, E Puzzolo, et al. 2023. “Scaling up Gas and Electric Cooking in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Climate Threat or Mitigation Strategy with Co-Benefits?” Environmental Research Letters 18 (3): 034010–10.
Print