The carbon footprint of traditional woodfuels

This research paper provides a spatially explicit assessment of woodfuel supply and demand across the tropics for the year 2009, estimating the levels of unsustainable harvesting and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions.

• In 2009, between 27% and 34% of harvested woodfuel was unsustainable, though this varied significantly by geography. These figures are lower than those used in carbon offset projects, which the authors suggest likely overstate the climate benefits provided by improved stoves.
• Woodfuel emissions are estimated at 1.0–1.2 Gt CO2e per year, representing 1.9–2.3% of global emissions. The deployment of 100 million improved stoves could lower these emissions by 11–17%. If black carbon were included in carbon markets at a price of US$11 per tCO2e, these reductions would be valued at more than US$1 billion annually.
• Approximately 275 million people reside in woodfuel depletion 'hotspots' where the majority of demand is unsustainable, with these areas primarily concentrated in East Africa and South Asia.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). The carbon footprint of traditional woodfuels. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-carbon-footprint-of-traditional-woodfuels/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The carbon footprint of traditional woodfuels. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-carbon-footprint-of-traditional-woodfuels/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The carbon footprint of traditional woodfuels |date=31 January 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-carbon-footprint-of-traditional-woodfuels/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015carbon, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The carbon footprint of traditional woodfuels}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-carbon-footprint-of-traditional-woodfuels/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }