In Ethiopia 96% of the population rely on biomass fuels to meet their energy needs and 85% of rural dwellers depend on firewood as their primary cooking fuel. As well as the carbon emissions that this produces it also has serious health impacts due to the high volume of smoke that the traditional cooking methods produce.
co2balance will be attempting to address some of these issues by distributing improved cook stoves in the Yeka Sub-City area of Addis Ababa. Each efficient wood stove distributed will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 3 tonnes of CO2 per household per year.
Deforestation is a significant issue in Ethiopia, with such a large population dependent on wood fuel. Ethiopian forests are being destroyed at a rate of 200,000 hectares a year, with demand exceeding renewable supply by more than a factor of five. As a result, in addition to carbon savings, the project will provide:
- Reduced deforestation and degradation of surrounding forests, as less wood will be needed to cook.
- Reduced poverty, as the efficient wood stove reduces annual expenditure on cooking fuels.
- Reduced cooking and wood collection time, which will revert to more time to attend other household tasks.
- Reduced crime against local women that venture deep forest to collect wood.
