An IHT Special Report says that the push for clean cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution was elevated from a public health backwater to a high place on the global agenda with the kick off of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in New York, at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative.
Detailing the journey of Envirofit in its quest to provide improved cookstoves that reduce harmful emissions by 80 per cent, the report notes that Envirofit has sold more than 150,000 portable cookstoves in India, priced at $12 to $25.
Envirofit makes 90 percent of its sales in India. But it started in business in Africa this year, in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and other countries. Plans are in the works to expand in Latin America.
In spite of the support from Mrs. Clinton, “plenty of work remains in raising awareness about indoor air pollution and making clean cookstoves more efficient and affordable,” said Simon Bishop, head of policy and communications at the Shell Foundation. Global standards must be implemented and governments need to promote testing and certification of clean stoves. “This is an infant industry. We are going to need a lot of Envirofits,” Mr. Bishop said. “The world needs more energy but less carbon dioxide.”
Read the report A Healthier, More Efficient Way to Cook by Amy Yee
