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Changing Fuel Use in Africa
Women collecting wood in eastern Kenya. On average, Africans consume 0.72 tons of wood per person, per year.
Image Courtesy of D. M. Kammen
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Sustainably harvested biomass, and charcoal in particular, may be the best option for reducing the health and environmental impacts of household fuel burning in sub-Saharan Africa, researchers report in the 1 April 2005 issue of the journal Science.
Biomass fuels such as wood, charcoal, dung and plant products supply more than 90 percent of the household energy needs in many nations. Burning these biofuels produces pollutants that cause millions of premature deaths, primarily in women and children, according to Robert Bailis and colleagues.
The authors examined a variety of energy-use scenarios for sub-Saharan Africa and forecasted the related effects on mortality and greenhouse gas emissions. Switching to fossil fuels would decrease both these effects, but these fuels are expensive and require changes in infrastructure. The authors say that a systematic shift from burning wood to burning charcoal — especially charcoal produced in kilns with emissions-controlling technology — provides a low-cost option for carbon management and also provides significant environmental and health benefits.
— Kathy Wren
4 April 2005
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