Clinton Announces New Commitments and Partnerships in Support of Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

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Washington (PRWEB) January 31, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced new partnerships and commitments today in support of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the public-private partnership she launched in 2010 to create a global market for clean cooking solutions.

“[The] Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which has helped millions of families live healthier, more productive lives, has expanded now to include 600 partners,” including 38 international governments, said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Highlighting the link between access to clean cookstoves and fuels and improved health, environmental, and economic outcomes for billions of people around the world, Clinton announced the following:

•     Up to a $70 million investment in promoting clean cookstoves in East Africa. The Paradigm Project and Bunde are collaborating with the Alliance to expand Paradigm’s clean cookstove program in the region, aiming to bring 4 to 5 million clean cookstoves and thousands of new jobs to market by 2020;
•     A $4 million commitment between the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and General Electric (GE) under the Alliance to finance a cookstove manufacturing project in East Africa in coordination with Burn Manufacturing Company. The partnership will establish a clean cookstove manufacturing facility in Kenya and satellite assembly plants in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, which are expected to manufacture and sell 3.6 million clean cookstoves in the region by 2020;
•     A partnership between Philips and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) to fund the development of a new company, Africa Clean Energy, to manufacture the cleanest solid biomass cookstoves in Africa, as tested by the Environmental Protection Agency. The pilot manufacturing of 5,000 stoves has been a success. Both Philips and the IDC are now working with channel partners and through direct consumer sales to make the Philips clean woodstove available across the African market; and
•     Mongolia and France officially joining the Alliance as national partners.

Secretary Clinton recalled a common reaction when she started speaking about her support for the Alliance: “’Clean cookstoves? What does that have to do with world peace and prosperity and human rights and democracy and freedom?’ Well, everything actually,” she said. “The world disease burden … from breathing the air from unclean cookstoves [make it] the number four killer in the world. But it’s also a contributor to black soot, which along with methane and other slow-acting pollutants is a major contributor to climate change.”

Radha Muthiah, the Alliance’s executive director, said, “Secretary Clinton’s leadership and passion have been instrumental in the Alliance’s growth to more than 600 partners across 6 continents in just over two years. Today’s announcements are part of the Alliance’s ongoing work to assist the clean cooking sector in becoming more cohesive, more diverse, and more investment-ready.”

The Alliance has achieved significant progress over the last two years, including:

•     More than $2 million for annual SPARK and Pilot Innovation funds to support entrepreneurs and innovation in the clean cooking sector;
•     Developing consensus guidelines and initiating the process for the first-ever standards for cookstove efficiency, safety, and emissions through an International Standardization Organization (ISO) process.
•     Holding stakeholder consultations in 18 countries; completing detailed market assessments of the clean cookstove and fuel sectors in 16 nations; and, through local-led processes, initiating country action plans in 6 nations: Bangladesh; China; Ghana; Kenya; Nigeria; and Uganda.
•     Commissioning research in the areas of child survival, climate change, and best practices for empowering women, and awarding support for cookstove testing centers around the world.

“The Alliance and its partners are making a real difference in people’s lives in large part because Mrs. Clinton has made access to clean cooking solutions a development and diplomatic priority,” Muthiah added.

Wanjira Maathai, the Alliance’s newest Advisory Board member, also delivered special remarks at today’s State Department event. Maathai is the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and board member of the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies.

Read the Alliance’s second year report here.

View the U.S. government’s recent infographic on its contribution to the Alliance here.

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Media Contact:
Sean Bartlett | 1.202.683.0453 | sbartlett(at)unfoundation(dot)org

About the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves:
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Alliance’s 100 by ‘20 goal calls for 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. The Alliance is working with its public, private and non-profit partners to help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment, and use of clean cookstoves in developing countries. For more information, please visit http://www.cleancookstoves.org.

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