Determinants of Household Energy Choice for Cooking in Northern Sudan: A Multinomial Logit Estimation

Explaining the rise of economic and rural-urban inequality in clean cooking fuel use in Tanzania

Despite the high rate of economic growth and electrification in the last two decades in Tanzania, only 6.9 % of the nation's households have access to clean cooking fuel technology which is concentrated among the rich urban households. Analysing data from two waves of the Tanzania National Panel Survey (2014/15 and 2020/21), we estimate the economic and rural-urban inequalities in the use of clean cooking fuel. Using the concentration curve, Erreygers concentration index and non-linear Fairlie decomposition, we find an increase in economic inequality and rural-urban inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel. Based on our analysis, factors such as the household head's education, household economic status and household connection to electricity contribute to the rural-urban inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel. Policy changes are vital for ensuring both rural and urban households have equitable access to education, electricity connection and household economic status to address inequality in the use of clean cooking fuel.

Household fuel choices and consumption intensity in Pakistan: evidence from HIES data 2001-2019

The adoption of clean energy (electricity and gas) for domestic purposes has increased over the decades, yet the share of clean energy in total energy consumption remains low. Therefore, this study analyses seven rounds of HIES surveys in Pakistan collected between 2001 to 2019 to understand the energy use patterns and why clean fuel consumption is low among households that have already adopted clean energy. To this end, the present study applied the Probit and Tobit models to examine the determinants of using different fuel types and their consumption intensity. The results show that female-headed households are more likely to adopt and consume more clean fuels such as electricity and gas. Moreover, education, wealth, and urban location have a positive association with clean fuel adoption and consumption. The study also finds that age and household size have a non-linear impact on clean fuel consumption intensity. The study recommends policies to achieve SDG 7 by improving accessibility and affordability by increasing income and the supply of clean fuel. Further, it emphasizes enhancing the knowledge about the benefit of using clean energy through education programs.

Solid Fuel Combustion and Air Pollution: Filling the Data Gap and Future Priorities

To date, some 3 billion people worldwide still rely on solid fuels (e.g., wood, coal,crop residues, animal dung, etc.) as a source of residential energy for cooking and space heating[...].

Safety assessment of charcoal usage and effects of common charcoal ignition aiders on combustion indices

Charcoal is a popular form of biofuel embraced for domestic and industrial purposes. However, the use of Charcoal has some associated challenges, such as the required charcoal pot and setting it into the fire at first by using Charcoal-Ignition-Aiders (CIA) (e.g. discarded paper, nylon, rubber, plastics, petrol, the residue of processed palm oil, maise cob, wood, and kerosene). Coupled with the chemical properties of Charcoal, the resulting gases from CIA are capable of polluting the environment with perceived Adverse-Health-Implications (AHI) on the ecosystem. Therefore, this study conducted a safety assessment of charcoal biofuel usage and the effects of common CIA on combustion indices. This study followed standard methods and the use of peculiar equipment. This study established that Charcoal is commonly used in the studied area because it is cheap, readily available and requires less technical know-how. Considering the combustion indices, using paper as a CIA generated the lowest carbon monoxide (CO) value, 28.1 ppm, with 3,434.54 ppm volatile organic compound, VOC. Compared with the ACGIH standard permissible exposure level of ≤ 30 ppm, the paper gave a lesser CO value of 28.10 ppm among all the CIA. At the same time, all the CIA recorded higher VOC compared with EPA standard permissible exposure level of ≤ 15 ppm. ANOVA analysis conducted on the socio-demographic profile of the respondents, cooking attributes of the respondents, and use of charcoal pot types by the respondents in Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3 gave p-values of 0.032, 0.028, and 0.039, respectively. These imply significant differences within the zones in each of the indices. The average energy content reported for charcoals sourced from oak trees, afara, obeche, mahogany, and iroko woods is 3,2149 kJ/kg compared to the lower ones. Therefore, this study recommended using these charcoals alongside discarded paper as CIA because they are a better combination to reduce AHI.

Does Use of Solid Cooking Fuels Increase Family Medical Expenses in China?

China has tried to replace solid fuels with cleaner energy in households. The benefits of fuel switching need to be identified. This article shows that households using solid cooking fuels suffer heavier medical expenses than those using non-solid cooking fuels. After accounting for family characteristics, using solid fuels is associated with 1.4–1.9% increases in medical care. Through the analysis of the impact mechanism, we found that solid cooking fuels harm the health conditions of family members and increase the probability of illness, thereby increasing medical expenses, while the ratio of fuel fees does not change significantly if switching cooking fuels. Furthermore, we explored heterogeneity to better understand the underlying relationship. For urban and higher-educated families with house ownership, the impact of solid fuels on medical expenses was weaker compared to rural and lower-educated households without owned houses. Therefore, considering the costs and benefits, we recommend continuing the conversion from solid fuels to non-solid fuels. In the fuel transition process, it is beneficial to raise residents’ awareness and improve behavior to avoid indoor air pollution.