The UNEP has formed an alliance to slash an estimated 1.6 million to 1.8 million premature deaths linked with indoor emissions from conventional cookstoves by providing around three billion clean cookstoves across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves was launched now during the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, as part of the Global Clinton Initiative and spearheaded by the UN Foundation. According to UNEP the initiative can also make a contribution to reducing deforestation by curbing the large quantities of wood and other biomass used to make charcoal or by households switching to alternative fuels including cookers powered by solar energy.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "In addition to meeting the health targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially among women and children who are often the most exposed to indoor air pollution, the Alliance may have wider and indeed global benefits." He continued, "Inefficient cooking stoves are estimated to be responsible for approximately 25% of emissions of black carbon, particles often known as soot, of which 40% is linked to wood burning.”
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