Impact Areas

Clean cooking is vital to combating global climate change and reducing environmental degradation. Cooking over polluting, open fires or inefficient stoves emits one-quarter of global black carbon emissions, the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide.

Exposure to household air pollution from burning wood, charcoal, coal, and kerosene is a leading risk factor for diseases, including childhood pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Globally, up to four million people die prematurely each year from illnesses attributable to household air pollution. The adoption of cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels can reduce the risks of illness and save lives.

Refugees, internally displaced people, and other crisis-affected populations lack access to clean cooking solutions. Cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels can help reduce the need for long and often dangerous trips in search of fuel, and improve outcomes in humanitarian settings.

Reliance on polluting, open fires or inefficient stoves places economic burdens on families, as time spent collecting fuel or cooking often means less time for women and girls to work in the paid economy or remain in school. Clean cooking solutions expand economic opportunities for women and girls.

While women and girls are disproportionately affected by the health and economic impacts of cooking with polluting, open fires and inefficient fuels, they play a crucial role in the widespread adoption and use clean cooking solutions because of their central responsibility for managing household energy.