Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households

Over 2 billion persons have little or no access to energy services and rely on traditional biomass to meet their daily energy requirements. In global energy terms, this consumption is greater than all other types of renewable energy (including wind, solar, hydro and modern bioenergy) combined. The energy insecurity and climate impacts of reliance on traditional biomass require more analysis within the local context, in order to address the needs of the poorest citizens while also identifying low-GHG options.

This project evaluates methodologies for emissions and energy accounting in the traditional biomass sector and develops two local case studies with which to illustrate the programme and policy implications of cooking alternatives. The case studies are located in peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and New Delhi (India).

The case studies will allow some representation of rather different ends of the household energy spectrum; there is fairly wide availability
and uptake of more advanced stoves in Delhi whereas in Dar es Salaam, their use is quite limited. In Delhi, the analysis will be based on a representative set of advanced stove options in comparison with existing options according to baseline data. In Dar es Salaam, the focus will be on the structure, efficiency and resource constraints associated with charcoal supply chains, given the importance of charcoal in the household energy sector.

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