The risk of survey bias in self-reports vs. actual consumption of clean cooking fuels | SEI

This research paper highlights a systemic bias in self-reported data regarding clean cooking fuel consumption. Comparing self-reports to LPG cylinder purchase records, the study found that only 15% of consumers were accurate, with 78% over-reporting their usage. This suggests that face-to-face survey data, common in developing countries, may be unreliable for analyzing the energy transition for the 3 billion people lacking clean cooking access.

• Approximately 3 billion people globally lack access to clean cooking fuels, such as electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and instead rely on solid fuels including dung, crop residues, and firewood burned in simple stoves or open fires.
• Research comparing self-reported annual LPG consumption against purchase records for cylinders reveals a statistically significant difference, with only 15% of consumers reporting their consumption accurately.
• Self-reporting errors regarding fuel consumption show a systemic bias toward over-reporting; 78% of respondents over-reported their consumption, whereas only 6% under-reported.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). The risk of survey bias in self-reports vs. actual consumption of clean cooking fuels | SEI. https://www.sei.org/publications/survey-bias-clean-cooking/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The risk of survey bias in self-reports vs. actual consumption of clean cooking fuels | SEI. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/survey-bias-clean-cooking/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The risk of survey bias in self-reports vs. actual consumption of clean cooking fuels | SEI |date=24 April 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/survey-bias-clean-cooking/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020risk, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The risk of survey bias in self-reports vs. actual consumption of clean cooking fuels | SEI}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/survey-bias-clean-cooking/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }