Challenge in Africa
- 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity, majority in rural areas.
- 700 million people are projected to remain without access to electricity by 2050 due to rapid population growth.
- An open fire is highly energy inefficient and requires a lot of wood. Family of 5 consumes 4000 kg of wood a year producing 6400 kg of CO2.
- An open fire produces massive household air pollution with many dangerous pollutants that penetrate deep into the lungs. Indoor pollution causes 4 million premature deaths a year and diseases incl. pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Women in developing countries spend on average 1,4 hours a day collecting firewood and 4 hours cooking. Women are thus heavily affected by indoor pollutions.
- Millions of children do not attend or complete primary education – majority are girls who stay at home to do household labour.
- Families in suburban areas spends a big part of their annual income on buying charcoal and lamp oil
- Unsustainable harvesting of firewood drives deforestation and forest degradation. High rates of deforestation causes: land erosion, desertification, droughts, famine, destruction of animal habitat and flooding. Deforestation also forces people to leave their homes in search of better opportunities – in Europe and neighbouring countries.
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Family size
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Daily need for firewood per person
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Wood used for cooking
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Firewood used in year for cooking
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Firewood used in year for cooking by one family
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Enegy density of firewood
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Annually energy used for cooking per person
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Annually energy used for cooking by family