Improved cookstoves reduce deforestation in UgandaThese project activities replace conventional and less efficient cookstoves in Uganda with improved cookstoves. Three objectives are being pursued: reducing fuel consumption, improving the health of the population in Uganda, and reducing deforestation.
More than 90 percent of households in Uganda use firewood or charcoal for cooking. Therefore, cooking with wood is one of the main reasons for deforestation in the country. Since the improved cookstoves distributed within this programme are much more efficient, they use significantly less wood. This not only saves CO2 emissions but also improves people's health by reducing indoor air pollution.
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.