Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is Now the Clean Cooking Alliance
Change better reflects the Alliance's mission and the evolution of the clean cooking sector
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- To more accurately reflect its industry-building approach for cookstoves and fuels and to highlight the evolution and growth of the clean cooking sector, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is changing its name to the Clean Cooking Alliance. The Alliance has worked since 2010 to accelerate the development, sale, distribution, and consistent use of cleaner, more efficient cookstoves and fuels in developing countries. The Clean Cooking Alliance will continue this mission, while expanding global efforts to drive engagement and investment in the clean cooking sector. The Alliance is planning a year-long rollout of its expanded mission, which includes hosting the first-ever Clean Cooking Investment Forum in November in Rwanda and releasing a new public service announcement on clean cooking from Academy Award-winning actor Julia Roberts at the First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health on October 30.
"As an investor and an early supporter of the Alliance with a strong interest in the positive social and environmental impacts clean cooking can deliver, I am pleased to see the Alliance's updated identity," said Bill Clarke, President of the Osprey Foundation, an innovative grant maker and impact investor. "Fuel accounts for the majority of consumer spending when it comes to cooking, and the Alliance's new name reflects the importance of scaling access to the whole range of clean cooking approaches, rather than cookstoves alone."
Globally, more than three billion people still depend on food cooked over polluting open fires and inefficient stoves, using fuels such as wood, charcoal, coal, and kerosene. The toxic emissions from these cooking fires cause dramatic health, climate, economic, and environmental impacts, including some four million deaths each year. Women and girls, who are disproportionately affected, often spend hours each day cooking, inhaling toxic smoke, and gathering fuel. Cooking is also a leading cause of air pollution, responsible for up to 25 percent of outdoor air pollution in some countries.
"It's no secret – progress on clean cooking remains painfully slow. It's long past time for this to change," said Dymphna van der Lans, CEO of the Clean Cooking Alliance. "No one's life should be limited by how they cook. Addressing this global crisis will require billions of dollars in added investment, as well as a renewed sense of urgency. The Clean Cooking Alliance is focused on fulfilling both of these needs in collaboration with partners, as we work together toward achieving universal access to clean cooking by 2030."
The Clean Cooking Alliance works with a global network of partners to build an industry that makes clean cooking accessible to families around the world, focusing on four core pillars to accelerate clean cooking access:
- Driving consumer demand for clean cookstoves and fuels by supporting behavior change and awareness raising interventions;
- Building a pipeline of investible businesses capable of answering this demand with affordable, high-quality, appropriate clean cooking products;
- Improving the policy environment by providing trusted, relevant data and advocating for regulations and policies that allow the industry to thrive, and;
- Increasing investment community participation and global engagement by providing market intelligence, delivering a clear path to action, and continuing to serve as the convener of the clean cooking sector.
Since 2010, more than 115 million clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels have been distributed and sold globally by Alliance partners. Based on current sales and distribution trends and projections, the sector is on pace to exceed the Alliance's goal of 100 million households adopting clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020.
While this is a significant achievement, the 100x2020 goal was set eight years ago as an interim target, at a time when energy access was not included as part of the Millennium Development Goals. Today, energy access has its own Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7), which includes a specific indicator on access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking. As such, the Alliance is joining with the global community to align its work with this goal, supporting achievement of universal access to clean cooking by 2030.
About the Clean Cooking Alliance
The Clean Cooking Alliance works with a global network of partners to build an industry that makes clean cooking accessible to families around the world. Established in 2010, the Alliance supports the development, sale, distribution, and consistent use of clean cooking solutions that transform lives by improving health, protecting the environment, creating jobs and income opportunities, and helping consumers save time and money. Learn more about our work at http://www.CleanCookingAlliance.org.
SOURCE Clean Cooking Alliance
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