The National Biomass Cookstove Initiative launched recently will for the first time put the user at the centre of the efforts to develop improved chulhas. The programme that was started in 1986, and discontinued in 2002, aimed at providing improved chulhas to reduce indoor pollution and fuel consumption.

Energy used in dwellings is an important target for actions to avert climate change. Properly designed and implemented, such actions could have major co-benefits for public health. To investigate, we examined the effect of hypothetical strategies to improve energy efficiency in UK housing stock and to introduce 150 million low-emission household cookstoves in India.

This UNDP-WHO joint report draws attention to the global energy access situation and highlights that three billion people still rely on traditional biomass and coal, with a striking two million deaths per year associated with indoor burning of these solid fuels in unventilated kitchens.

Almost two billion people need modern energy services by 2015 to accelerate MDGs achievement.

Indoor air pollution (IAP), especially through the smoke released when burning solid biomass fuel for cooking, is a major environmental health problem in Nepal. About 85 percent of Nepalese households are dependent on solid biomass fuels for cooking energy.

India has been arguing that it (and the rest of the developing world) should incur no expense in controlling emissions that cause climate change.

Rema Hanna Posted: Tuesday , May 12, 2009 at 0001 hrs IST

Simply replacing the chulha won't help, we have to help the poor use clean renewable energy.

This report is primarily addressed at policymakers and others concerned about gender and energy issues in India. The ministerial structure as it relates to energy in India is given as an appendix for the benefit of readers both within and outside India. Typically, a gender audit exercise is carried out by experts at the organisational level.

Historically, technology development for rural areas has followed tinkering approach or use of rudimentary technology. It is shown that very sophisticated science and technology is needed for producing devices for rural applications. This process can also result in fundamental research.

India is witnessing an increasing demand for energy in its rapidly expanding economy and is making large investments in exploration, fuel production, generation, transmission and distribution of power and in setting up a grid infrastructure.

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