Environmental and economic benefits due to substitution of traditional cooking stoves in Mozambique

Emissions derived from inefficient biomass burning have an important impact on climate change. Around 3 million people in the world use solid biomass such as wood and charcoal for cooking. This study provides an analysis of emission mitigation potential due to the replacement of traditional charcoal stoves with more efficient cook stoves in one area of Maputo, in Mozambique. Fuel consumption reduction has been estimated using a data collection campaign in the project area. The results show that daily fuel consumption has decreased from 2.57 kg to 0.53 kg per day and family. The total carbon emission reduction has been estimated in 627 tons in all the project area. The use of efficient stoves results in gas emissions reduction of around 12,466 tons of CO2 equivalent during 2015. Charcoal production processes are extremely inefficient in Mozambique and the ratio from charcoal to wood is of 1/6. Considering that the average quantity of biomass available per hectare in Miombo forests in Mozambique, the usual supply area, is of 50,5 tons per hectare, the reduction in charcoal consumption, as a result of efficient stove use, results in a forest cutting reduction of 13 hectares. In addition, the use of environmentally efficient stoves has also important economic effects for local families, each of which saving approximately 168 $ yearly. This study represents the first phase of a wider research project in which the analyses are to be extended to other areas of Mozambique and other fuel supply chains.