Energy Access and Climate Mitigation and Adaptation
The number of people relying on unsustainable cooking energy has increased from 2.6 billion (2013) to 2.9 billion (2015) increasing the pressure on global warming.
[Worldbank, SE4All 2015]
Cookstoves generate Most Black Carbon Emissions in Developing Regions. Black Carbon (BC) is major constituent of PM from biomass combustion.
[T. Bond, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2013]
Black carbon is 2nd greatest contributor to global warming after CO2. The warming effect is 2/3 of CO2.
[T. Bond, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2013]
60-80% of Black Carbon emissions in developing regions are from biomass cookstoves.
[T. Bond, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2013]
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The global middle and upper class which are largely responsible for GHG emissions currently are the major beneficiaries in the climate mitigation approach whereas the poor and disadvantaged are left out! The poor are only served by climate financing through climate adaptation measures (risk mitigation, disaster management, etc.). This approach however might lead to sharpen inequalities as the funds are rather beneficial to the better-off and not to the poor and hence distort many development approaches.
For Black Carbon there is no internationally standardized methodology available. The Golden Standard Quantification Methodology has not been approved by UNFCCC by now. WB however applies it in a few pilot projects and has come out with first figures. Hence the question still remains which methodology to apply to monitor Black Carbon.
Non-Kyoto particles such as black carbon and short-lived climate pollutants are not mentioned in the current draft of the climate treaty but are important for INDC under UNFCCC.
In developing countries, more than 1 billion tons of CO₂ are emitted into the atmosphere from burning biomass for cooking.
· Other products of incomplete combustion and climate forcers (non-Kyoto particles) such as black carbon further exacerbate the problem. 21% of black carbon emissions is thought to be from residential solid fuel use for cooking and heating in the developing world (US EPA, 2012).
· In terms of climate change, woody resources are generally regarded as “renewable” and “carbon neutral” if sustainably produced; however, while CO₂ to a degree could be sequestered if biomass regrows, the level of regrowth is likely to vary geographically. There is evidence that biomass used for household cooking is thus a net contributor to global warming since not all biomass harvested is renewable. When short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) such as black carbon are taken into consideration, the burning of solid fuels is decidedly not “climate neutral”
Potential measures/solutions to be applied include:
· Promotion of clean cookstoves - it is estimated that some modern biomass stove models can reduce CO₂ emissions by 25-50%.
· Transitioning to agricultural waste briquettes - such as those made from sawdust, and crop residues and pellets (from compressed woodwaste, invasive plants, etc.) that can be burned in highly efficient residential gasifier stoves.
· More efficient production of charcoal or reducing overall production of charcoal.
· Switching to alternative fuels such as LPG, biogas, and bioethanol.
Some resources:
-Household Cookstoves, Environment, Health and Climate Change – A New Look at an Old Problem (WB 2010)
-On thin Ice: How Cutting Pollution Can Slow Warming and Save Lives (WB 2013)
-Black Carbon Finance Study Group Report (CCAC 2015)
Literature:
http://www.unep.org/ccac/Publications/Publications/BlackCarbonFinanceStudyGroupReport2015/tabid/1060194/Default.aspx
