In 2023, Nelvik Norsk Hydro started its Climate Preservation program, focusing on Africa, by distributing new, energy-efficient and improved cookstoves (ICS) to replace existing traditional cookstoves in domestic households and communities within Liberia.
Traditional cooking methods are prevalent across Liberia and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to inefficient combustion of unsustainably sourced, non-renewable biomass (NRB) fuel. The use of such fuels is one of the major drivers of deforestation. In 2021 alone, Liberia lost 128kha of natural forests, widespread usage of NRB for meeting thermal energy needs reduces the ability of forests to sequester carbon, thereby causing GHG emissions.
Environmentally speaking, production of solid fuel (ie. wood and charcoal) leads to increased deforestation and land degradation and biodiversity loss. As a result, these environmental impacts also threaten the livelihood of rural communities. Every year, cooking with solid fuels produces as much climate-harming emissions as the airline industry. More than half of human-generated emissions of black carbon, which is 1,500 times more impactful on climate change than CO2 come from burning solid fuels for cooking and heating the home.
Using solid fuels (wood, charcoal) for cooking is a major health issue, leading to increased household air pollution (HAP) causing a range of adverse health outcomes such as respiratory illnesses and cancer. Over 4 million people globally die prematurely from illnesses attributed to solid fuel cooking, with women and children at a high risk of disease through exposure.
According to the WHO, 3,000 people die prematurely every year in Liberia, due to toxic smoke related to cooking practices.
As a result, the Improved Cookstoves (ICS) project is the solution for these health and environmental issues by:
✓ reducing fuel use by 30-60 percent
✓ reducing air pollution by maintaining high temperatures with less smoke, and
✓ reducing families’ exposure to smoke by increasing cooking speed.
Clean cooking is a basic requirement for a healthy and productive life; saving households’ time and money.
Reducing the amount of fuel needed to cook reduces the burden on families who would otherwise have to collect it, buy it, or trade their food for fuel.
Reducing smoke emissions from cooking decreases the burden of disease associated with household air pollution.
Children, particularly girls, are often kept out of school so that they can contribute to household tasks, like cooking.
Unpaid work, including collecting fuel and cooking, remain a major cause of gender inequality.
Clean cooking is essential to addressing energy poverty and ensuring sustainable energy security for billions of people.
Energy access enables enhanced productivity and inclusive economic growth. The clean cooking sector offers many job opportunities.
Clean cooking addresses household and ambient air pollution, resource efficiency, and climate vulnerability.
Up to 25 per cent of black carbon emissions result from burning solid fuels for household energy needs.
Over 30 per cent of wood fuel harvested is unsustainable; contributing to forest degradation, deforestation, and climate change.
The most common charcoal stove in Liberia costs approx. US$25
