Project details
1333 · Improved cookstoves
  • Countrywide, Myanmar
Safe cooking for families in Myanmar

Indoor cooking over open fires is very harmful to health. The resulting air pollution is responsible for the premature deaths of over 4 million people a year, more than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Fuel Efficient Stoves (FFS) reduce air pollution by 80%, significantly improving people's health and safety. Household carbon emissions are reduced by 60%, or four tonnes per year per stove. The Myanmar Stoves Campaign is the first Gold Standard certified climate project in Myanmar, which is now distributing those fuel-efficient cook stoves to thousands of families. But the stoves not only benefit people's health, but also the forests. Myanmar is the third largest cause of global deforestation. The more forests disappear, the more expensive wood becomes, which increasingly drives families into energy poverty. Every efficient cookstove reduces wood consumption by at least 50%, which reduces pressure on forests and lowers household expenditure on fuel. Reducing expenditure on wood makes a big difference to families already living in poverty, and reducing the time spent looking for wood means more time is available for smallholder farms and securing a good harvest.

How improved cookstoves contribute to climate action

According 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.

Contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Good Health and Well-BeingPeople exposed to heavy indoor smoke are 2-3 times more likely to develop chronic obstructive respiratory diseases. By using the clean cookstoves, households will no longer be exposed to dangerous air pollutants from open fires used for cooking.
Affordable and Clean EnergyThe project distributes over 36,000 clean cookstoves to local households.
Decent Work and Economic GrowthLocal entrepreneurs will be trained to act as distribution partners responsible for awareness raising, selling and maintenance of Fuel Efficient Stoves (FES) in the communities.
Climate ActionThe project consists of several sub-projects, all of which contribute distributing improved cookstoves in Myanmar and thereby demonstrably reduce CO2 emissions.
Project standardGold Standard VER (GS VER)TechnologyImproved cookstovesRegionCountrywide, MyanmarValidated byGold StandardVerified byGold Standard