Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households Protocol

This fact sheet describes a project aimed at improving energy access in least developed countries by evaluating low-GHG alternatives to traditional biomass. The project focuses on three emission sources: non-renewable biomass, lifecycle fuel emissions, and products of incomplete combustion, such as black carbon. Using peri-urban case studies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Delhi, India, the project examines the socio-economic and cultural factors influencing the adoption of efficient cookstoves and cleaner fuels like LPG, ethanol, and electricity. In Delhi, the study compares advanced stove options against baseline data, while in Dar es Salaam, it focuses on charcoal supply chain constraints and efficiency.

• Over two billion people lack energy services and rely on traditional biomass, a consumption level that exceeds all other renewable energy sources combined, including wind, solar, hydro, and modern bioenergy.
• Black carbon, a product of incomplete combustion from traditional biomass, is a potent climate pollutant with a short atmospheric lifespan of a few weeks, meaning mitigation measures can provide immediate effects.
• The adoption of cleaner fuels such as electricity, ethanol, or LPG and more efficient stoves is often hindered by a lack of availability and a failure to integrate these technologies into local socio-economic and cultural contexts, which can negatively impact livelihoods.
• In Dar es Salaam, charcoal has been the dominant fuel for at least twenty years, and dependence on charcoal and fuelwood has increased as the price of alternative fuels rose.
• In the National Capital Region of Delhi, LPG is the dominant cooking fuel in both rural and urban areas, though fuel availability and emission impacts differ between the two.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2011). Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households Protocol. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-factsheet-2011-improving-energy-access-changing-climate.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households Protocol. 2011. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-factsheet-2011-improving-energy-access-changing-climate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households Protocol |date=2011 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-factsheet-2011-improving-energy-access-changing-climate.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2011improving, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Improving Energy Access in a Changing Climate: Evaluating Policy Options for Traditional Biomass Use in Households Protocol}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-factsheet-2011-improving-energy-access-changing-climate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }