The world of cook stoves is changing as companies are stepping forward to market models that are efficient and durable while micro-finance and other initiatives are likely to make them affordable as well, says an article in the Newsweek. According to the magazine, "When it comes to fighting global warming, much of the world’s attention has focused on ways to eliminate coal-fired power plants, promote electric vehicles, and build wind farms. But what if there were something far simpler and more low-tech that would have the same benefit as taking more than half the cars in the United States off the road? Well, it turns out there is—which is why everyone from the US Congress to the United Nations and the philanthropic wing of Shell Oil is suddenly talking about cookstoves."
Newsweek points out that converting most of the world’s poor to more efficient stoves would do as much to prevent global warming as taking 134 million cars off the streets which is why building better stoves—and finding a way to persuade the poor to use them—has become a priority.
The energy bill passed by the U.S. Senate in May calls for the government to help distribute stoves. A similar bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009 even mandated that 20 million homes be provided with better stoves within five years.
However, the article points out the challenges which have existed in tackling the issue and what possibly makes the efforts to deal with indoor air pollution different this time is the creation of enterprises around marketing of improved cook stoves.
Says Newsweek, "The history of cookstoves, however, is one of a succession of well-intentioned failures. India paid tens of millions of dollars to supply stoves to rural villages between 1984 and 2004. But the government stoves were of poor quality and, because they were given away, there was no natural after-market for servicing them. As a result, within a few years the vast majority were no longer in use.
Many, though, think this time will be different. A handful of private companies have decided there is money to be made in stoves, and they are marketing models that are efficient, durable, and priced between $25 and $100. That’s still too costly for many of the world’s poorest. Experts say the price has to drop below $12 for guaranteed widespread adoption. But some are hoping that the growing ranks of microfinance banks will be persuaded to lend money to villagers to bridge this gap, or that Western companies might be persuaded to finance distribution in exchange for carbon-trading credits. The U.N. Foundation also plans to launch a Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in September. But it remains unclear whether enough of the world’s poor can be persuaded to change the way they cook in time to keep the entire planet from roasting."
Read here the Newsweek story
