Protecting forests, health and the climateCooking with charcoal on open fires or inefficient stoves is one of the main reasons for the high deforestation rate in Ghana, and the source of serious health problems. Women and children are exposed to intense air pollution from the smoke which leads to respiratory diseases, eye infections and premature deaths. Our carbon offset project is counteracting both issues and at the same time saves carbon emissions.
The social enterprise Man and Man was founded in 2014 and produces efficient cookstoves at their manufacturing site in Kumasi. The stove model called Jiko consumes up to 40 percent less charcoal thanks to better heat isolation. This does not only reduce fuel consumption but also smoke production, improving both economic and health conditions for families. The stoves are distributed in urban areas throughout Ghana and used by low-income households as well as small enterpreneurs. The project has created new job opportunities in manufacturing and distribution. By reducing fuel consumption it helps reduce the pressure on local forests and biodiversity.
How improved cookstoves contribute to climate actionAccording to a statistic from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2022) around a third of the global population still relies on unsafe and environmentally harmful cooking methods. This includes, for example, cooking over open fires or using polluting cooking fuels, such as coal or kerosene. Improved cookstoves tackle this problem by using thermal energy more efficiently. Depending on the model, an improved cookstove can reduce fuel consumption by up to 70 percent, which significantly saves CO2 emissions and can lower the pressure on local forests as less firewood needs to be harvested.
Improved cookstove projects allow the distribution of the - often simple - devices made from metal or clay to households, small enterprises or community facilities. Especially for households, this has an impact beyond the CO2 reduction: better indoor air quality decreases respiratory diseases and families can save time and money as less fuel is needed. Improved cookstoves projects in the ClimatePartner portfolio are registered with international standards.
