Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits?

Floess, Emily, Grieshop, Andrew, Puzzolo, Elisa ORCID: 0000-0001-9177-5298, Pope, Dan ORCID: 0000-0003-2694-5478, Leach, Nicholas, Smith, Christopher J, Gill-Wiehl, Annelise, Landesman, Katherine and Bailis, Rob (2023) Scaling up gas and electric cooking in low- and middle-income countries: climate threat or mitigation strategy with co-benefits? ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 18 (3). 034010-034010.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acb501

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Nearly three billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) rely on polluting fuels, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths annually. Polluting fuels also emit short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and grid-based electricity are scalable alternatives to polluting fuels but have raised climate and health concerns. Here, we compare emissions and climate impacts of a business-as-usual household cooking fuel trajectory to four large-scale transitions to gas and/or grid electricity in 77 LMICs. We account for upstream and end-use emissions from gas and electric cooking, assuming electrical grids evolve according to the 2022 World Energy Outlook’s ‘Stated Policies’ Scenario. We input the emissions into a reduced-complexity climate model to estimate radiative forcing and temperature changes associated with each scenario. We find full transitions to LPG and/or electricity decrease emissions from both well-mixed GHG and SLCFs, resulting in a roughly 5 millikelvin global temperature reduction by 2040. Transitions to LPG and/or electricity also reduce annual emissions of PM<jats:sub>2.5</jats:sub> by over 6 Mt (99%) by 2040, which would substantially lower health risks from household air pollution. Full transitions to LPG or grid electricity in LMICs improve climate impacts over BAU trajectories.</jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	clean cooking, climate impacts, energy transitions, LPG, short-lived climate forcers
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 Apr 2023 08:46
Last Modified:	27 Apr 2023 08:46
DOI:	10.1088/1748-9326/acb501
Open Access URL:	http://10.0.4.64/1748-9326/acb501
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3170018