2022 article

Climate & Health Implications of Adopting Modern Household Cooking Fuels on a Global Scale

Floess, E., Grieshop, A., Puzzolo, E., Pope, D., Leach, N., Smith, C. J., … Bailis, R. (2022, September 1).

co-author countries: Austria 🇦🇹 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧 United States of America 🇺🇸
Source: ORCID
Added: December 5, 2022

Abstract Nearly 3 billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rely on polluting fuels, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths each year. Polluting fuels also emit short-lived climate forcers and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and grid-based electricity are scalable alternatives to polluting fuels. Here, we compare emissions and climate impacts of a business-as usual household cooking fuel trajectory to four large-scale transitions to clean cooking fuels in 77 LMICs. We use upstream and end-use emissions in a simple emissions-based reduced-complexity climate model to estimate radiative forcing and temperature changes associated with each scenario. Full transitions to modern fuels decrease emissions from both well-mixed GHG and short-lived climate forcers, resulting in a roughly 5 mK global temperature reduction by 2040. Full transitions to LPG and electricity for cooking also reduce annual emissions of PM 2.5 by over 6 Mt (99%) by 2040, substantially lowering health risks.