The global challenge of clean cooking systems

• Cooking is an essential and energy-intensive activity. Populations in industrialized countries enjoy nearly universal access to electricity and gas for clean cooking, while about 2.5 billion people in low- and middle-income countries use solid fuels such as wood, charcoal, coal, crop residue and dung for their daily cooking. These traditional solid fuel cooking systems negatively affect the health and reduce the opportunities of cookstove users, who are disproportionately women and children. Solid fuel cooking also presents a number of detrimental environmental impacts, such as ambient air pollution and forest degradation in some regions. Access to cleaner cooking fuels such as gas and electricity is expanding, but is constrained by the higher costs and logistical challenges of such systems. This review investigates the technologies and systems that are currently used to cook food, with a focus on low-income populations. It identifies key challenges that hinder a global transition to clean and sustainable cooking. Finally, it reflects on the recent success of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) along with other fossil fuel-based cooking systems, and discusses a potential transition to renewable energy-based cooking.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Energisystem (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Energy Systems (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Clean cooking

Household air pollution

Energy access

Gender equity

Improved cookstoves

Renewable energy

Bioenergiteknik/Energi- och Miljöteknik

Bioenergy Technology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)