Spicing up the cooking challenge: 2.8 billion or 4 billion?
MECS access
In September 2020, ESMAP launched The State of Access to Modern Energy Cooking Services report, which estimates that 4 billion people around the world still lack access to clean, efficient, convenient, safe, reliable, and affordable cooking energy. Many people noticed that this access deficit figure differed from that of the 2020 Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report, which found that 2.8 billion people globally still cook with traditional polluting fuels and technologies. Given the slow progress toward universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern cooking energy a key element for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) are we complicating this already daunting challenge? Let’s take a closer look at what each number means and the policy implications.
Adding more ingredients to the cooking energy sector
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Cooking is a vital daily activity for families around the world, yet 2.8 million people lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies (SDG7 Tracking Report, 2020). While we have known the scale of the problem over the last decade, the sector has lacked deeper insights to guide policy makers and practitioners. Cooking behavior is complex and highly contextual: it is a development issue affecting health, environment, climate change, and gender equality. Only when we understand the obstacles, gaps, and needs in this sector can we work towards developing appropriate and sustainable solutions.