Household cooking fuel estimates at global and country level for 1990 to 2030

Abstract

Household air pollution generated from the use of polluting cooking fuels and technologies is a major source of disease and environmental degradation in low- and middle-income countries. Using a novel modelling approach, we provide detailed global, regional and country estimates of the percentages and populations mainly using 6 fuel categories (electricity, gaseous fuels, kerosene, biomass, charcoal, coal) and overall polluting/clean fuel use – from 1990-2020 and with urban/rural disaggregation. Here we show that 53% of the global population mainly used polluting cooking fuels in 1990, dropping to 36% in 2020. In urban areas, gaseous fuels currently dominate, with a growing reliance on electricity; in rural populations, high levels of biomass use persist alongside increasing use of gaseous fuels. Future projections of observed trends suggest 31% will still mainly use polluting fuels in 2030, including over 1 billion people in Sub-Saharan African by 2025.

Global magnitude and long‐term trend of ischemic heart disease burden attributed to household air pollution from solid fuels in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019

“…First, HAP was associated with 511.17 thousand IHD deaths and Although the global use of solid fuels for lighting, cooking, and heating has decreased, the absolute population relying upon these fuels is expected to remain relatively stable in the next 10 years due to population growth. 24 Several mechanisms might explain how HAP contributes to IHD. Particulate matter in HAP is likely to cause oxidative stress, inflammation, abnormal lipid metabolism, and thrombosis in circulation, which will adversely affect endothelial function, and then induce atherosclerosis, the main pathological process behind IHD.…”

Association between Wood and Other Biomass Fuels and Risk of Low Birthweight in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey Data

“…Globally, about 2.8 billion (36%) people rely on kerosene and biomass fuels (charcoal, coal, wood, animal dung, and agricultural residues), referred to collectively as biomass fuels, for cooking and heating [ 1 , 2 ]. In Asia, significant progress in transitioning to cleaner fuels (liquid petroleum gas [LPG], electricity) has been seen, but little progress has been made in Africa, where the proportion of solid fuel use has only decreased slightly from 90% in 1990 to 84% in 2020 [ 1 ]. The limited decrease in proportion of biomass cooking fuel use in Africa is offset by an absolute increase in the population that solely relies on polluting cooking fuels due to population growth [ 1 ].…”

“…In Asia, significant progress in transitioning to cleaner fuels (liquid petroleum gas [LPG], electricity) has been seen, but little progress has been made in Africa, where the proportion of solid fuel use has only decreased slightly from 90% in 1990 to 84% in 2020 [ 1 ]. The limited decrease in proportion of biomass cooking fuel use in Africa is offset by an absolute increase in the population that solely relies on polluting cooking fuels due to population growth [ 1 ]. By 2025, the use of biomass fuels for cooking is projected to exceed one billion people in Africa [ 1 ].…”

“…The limited decrease in proportion of biomass cooking fuel use in Africa is offset by an absolute increase in the population that solely relies on polluting cooking fuels due to population growth [ 1 ]. By 2025, the use of biomass fuels for cooking is projected to exceed one billion people in Africa [ 1 ]. Biomass fuels often undergo incomplete combustion, producing high levels of household air pollution (HAP), which includes particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) at levels that frequently exceed the World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines (WHO-AQGs) [ 2 ].…”

“…Studies and meta-analyses have identified an association between exposure to biomass compared to cleaner fuels (LPG, electricity) with increased risk of LBW [ 4 , 7 , 11 , 12 ]. However, only a limited number of studies from Africa were included in the meta-analyses [ 4 , 7 , 11 , 12 ], a region with a high burden of LBW [ 10 ], and predominant use of polluting fuels [ 1 ]. The studies from Africa were limited to relatively few countries, including Ghana [ 13 ], Nigeria [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], Malawi [ 18 ], Ethiopia [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], and Zimbabwe [ 22 ].…”