Household Energy in Developing Countries: A Burning Issue

The document highlights that over three billion people rely on traditional solid fuels, causing significant indoor air pollution and contributing to 1.6 million annual deaths. It notes that black carbon from these fuels accounts for 18% of global GHG emissions. The brief advocates for 'source' interventions, such as LPG, ethanol, and improved stoves, and emphasizes the need for consumer choice analysis to ensure technology adoption, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

• More than three billion people globally depend on traditional solid fuels, including wood, dung, and agricultural residues, for basic energy needs, which results in indoor air pollution levels that exceed international standards.
• Indoor smoke exposure is linked to an estimated 1.6 million annual deaths, primarily among women and children, by doubling the risk of pneumonia and acute lower respiratory infections in children and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults.
• The burning of traditional biomass for household cooking produces black carbon (soot) emissions, which are estimated to be responsible for 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The daily global demand for cooking fuel is estimated at over 2 million tonnes of biomass; in ecologically fragile regions, the harvesting of live trees for this purpose causes desertification and soil erosion.
• While switching to cleaner fuels like ethanol or LPG and using efficient stoves offers health and environmental benefits, the transition has stalled in many developing countries, and the number of households using traditional biomass is expected to increase.
• Effective interventions to improve household energy choice require analyzing both socioeconomic factors and product-specific attributes, such as perceived smokiness and safety, rather than focusing solely on income, age, and gender.

APA

Lambe, F., & Johnson, F. X. (n.d.). Household Energy in Developing Countries: A Burning Issue. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate/household_energy_pb_090603_fxj.pdf

Chicago

Lambe, Fiona, and Francis X. Johnson. Household Energy in Developing Countries: A Burning Issue. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate/household_energy_pb_090603_fxj.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lambe |first1=Fiona |last2=Johnson |first2=Francis X. |title=Household Energy in Developing Countries: A Burning Issue |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate/household_energy_pb_090603_fxj.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lambendhousehold, author = {Lambe, Fiona and Johnson, Francis X.}, title = {{Household Energy in Developing Countries: A Burning Issue}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Projects/Climate/household_energy_pb_090603_fxj.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }