Background In Ethiopia, biomass contributes to about 92% of the household fuel consumption. As a result, deforestation rate has alarmingly increased associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land degradation. The concerned government agencies have been widely making concerted efforts to reverse the situation by of promotion of improved cookstoves (ICS). However, the performance of these technologies in terms of saving fuelwood and their contribution to CO2 emission reduction in a real kitchen was not studied systematically. Thus, this research was initiated to address the knowledge gap. Methods The study was conducted in Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. The study households were selected following cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. A kitchen performance test (KPT) was carried out based on 3 days of repeated fuelwood use measurements to compare the wood-saving performance of ICS in comparison with the traditional cookstove (TCS). The emission reduction potential of both ICS and TCS was calculated based on the Clean Development Mechanism and United Nation’s Framework of Convention on Climate Change and presented in CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Results The result suggests significant differences in total and per capita wood consumption (p < 0.05) between improved and TCS. The use of Mirt and Tikikil compared to the traditional stove has reduced the household wood consumption by 35% and 18%, respectively. Furthermore, ICS stoves also reduced CO2e emission per stove per year by 0.65 and 0.27 tons, respectively. Conclusion The study deals with the significant contribution that the shift from TCS to the ICS brought in terms of reducing the amount of fuelwood used at household level and the carbon emission per capita. It addresses the crucial roles of such technologies in reducing forest degradation and the associated ecosystem loss. Therefore, policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries at household level should at least start via promotions of ICS.

In Ethiopia, biomass is the main form of fuel approximately for 92% of the population. Currently, several strategies were designed to reduce fuelwood consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission by implementing improved cooking stoves (ICS). Nevertheless, the adoption of ICSs has been very slow. Therefore, this study were conducted to assess the performance of ICS (“Mirt” and Tikikil”) on fuelwood consumption and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) in the kitchens of real households using kitchen performance test (KPT) methods. To select the study households (HH), both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs were used. The study indicated that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the use of improved and traditional cooking stoves in total and per capita wood consumption. The use of “Mirt” and “Tikikil” than the traditional stove reduced the household wood consumption by 35 % (438 kg/ year) and 18% (185 kg/ year), respectively. Likewise, adopting of these ICS stoves lead to decrease of 0.65 and 0.27 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2 e) per stove per year. This finding may have implication on adoption of ICS technology is important on reducing CO2 emission, forest degradation and household workloads.

Background In Ethiopia, biomass is the main form of fuel approximately for 92% of the population. Currently, several strategies were designed to reduce fuelwood consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission by implementing improved cooking stoves (ICS). Nevertheless, the adoption of ICSs has been very slow. Therefore, these studies were conducted to assess the performance of ICS (“Mirt” and Tikikil”) on fuelwood consumption and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) in the kitchens of real households.Methods To select the study households (HH), both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs were used. We used Kitchen Performance Test (KPT), based on three days of repeated fuel wood use measurements to compare the wood-saving performance of ICS and the traditional cook stoves (TCS). The carbon emission in the study area was calculated based on the clean development mechanism and United Nation’s Framework of Convention on Climate change.Result The study indicated that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the use of improved and traditional cooking stoves in total and per capita wood consumption. The use of “Mirt” and “Tikikil” than the traditional stove reduced the household wood consumption by 35 % (438 kg/ year) and 18% (185 kg/ year), respectively. Likewise, use of these ICS stoves lead to decrease of 0.65 and 0.27 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2 e) per stove per year. ConclusionAdopting of ICS reduced the amount of fuelwood used and carbon emission at household level significantly as compared to the use of TCS. This finding have implication on adoption of ICS technology is important on reducing CO2 emission, forest degradation and household workloads.