Can Improved Biomass Cookstoves Contribute to REDD+ in Low-Income Countries? Evidence from a Controlled Cooking Test Trial with Randomized Behavioral Treatments

47 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Abebe Beyene

Abebe Beyene

EfD Ethiopia

Randall A. Bluffstone

Portland State University - Department of Economics

Sahan Dissanayake

Colby College - Department of Economics

Zenebe Gebreegziabher

Mekelle University - Department of Economics

Peter Martinsson

University of Gothenburg - Department of Economics and Statistics

Alemu Mekonnen

Addis Ababa University - Department of Economics

Michael Toman

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Date Written: August 17, 2015

Abstract

This paper provides field experiment?based evidence on the potential additional forest carbon sequestration that cleaner and more fuel-efficient cookstoves might generate. The paper focuses on the Mirt (meaning ?best?) cookstove, which is used to bake injera, the staple food in Ethiopia. The analysis finds that the technology generates per-meal fuel savings of 22 to 31 percent compared with a traditional three-stone stove with little or no increase in cooking time. Because approximately 88 percent of harvests from Ethiopian forests are unsustainable, these findings suggest that the Mirt stove, and potentially improved cookstoves more generally, can contribute to reduced forest degradation. These savings may be creditable under the United Nations Collaborative Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. Because of the highly specific nature of the Mirt stove and the lack of refrigeration in rural Ethiopia, rebound effects are unlikely, but this analysis was unable completely to rule out such leakage. The conclusions are therefore indicative, pending evidence on the frequency of Mirt stove use in the field. The effects of six randomized behavioral treatments on fuelwood and cooking time outcomes were also evaluated, but limited effects were found.

Keywords: Climate Change and Health, Global Environment, Climate Change and Environment, Science of Climate Change

Suggested Citation

Beyene, Abebe and Bluffstone, Randall Ames and Dissanayake, Sahan and Gebreegziabher, Zenebe and Martinsson, Peter and Mekonnen, Alemu and Toman, Michael, Can Improved Biomass Cookstoves Contribute to REDD+ in Low-Income Countries? Evidence from a Controlled Cooking Test Trial with Randomized Behavioral Treatments (August 17, 2015). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7394, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2646307

Abebe Beyene (Contact Author)

EfD Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Randall Ames Bluffstone

Portland State University - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 751
Portland, OR 97207-0751
United States
503-725-3938 (Phone)
503-725-3945 (Fax)

Sahan Dissanayake

Colby College - Department of Economics ( email )

Waterville, ME 04901
United States

Zenebe Gebreegziabher

Mekelle University - Department of Economics ( email )

Adi Haki Campus
Post Box No. 451
Mekelle
Ethiopia

Peter Martinsson

University of Gothenburg - Department of Economics and Statistics ( email )

Box 640
Vasagatan 1, E-building, floor 5 & 6
Göteborg, 40530
Sweden

Alemu Mekonnen

Addis Ababa University - Department of Economics

Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Michael Toman

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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