GENERAL
PEER REVIEWED
Received 20 July 2009
Accepted 09 February 2010
Using carbon finance to introduce liquefied petroleum
gas stoves into Northern Darfur, Sudan
Author
Hashim Eltayeb
Email: [email protected]
Pio Yokwan Road, Plot No. 4,
Street 49 North of Khartoum 3 Club, Sudan
Figure 1: Women arriving for LPG
training (Photo: Practical Action/
Margaret Gardener)
In 2007 Practical Action launched Darfur Efficient Cookstoves’ in Al
Fasher town, North Darfur to provide modern liquefied petroleum
gas stoves to replace the traditional three-stone fires, through carbon
financing. The stove programme is managed by locally organised
women’s groups – under the supervision of the Women’s Development
Association Network so the project is carried out by the community
for the community. So far, over 2416 stoves have been disseminated
to households (January 2010), with positive results. Greenhouse gas
emissions have been reduced, and reduced indoor air pollution is
improving health and quality of life.
Background
T
he ‘Darfur Efficient Cookstoves’
project operates in Al Fasher
town, the capital of North Darfur,
approximately 1200 km west-southwest of
Khartoum and 550 km west-northwest of
An Nahud. The area is an arid and fragile
zone that suffers from desertification.
Drought has led to minimal vegetation
cover and created a serious shortage
of firewood. In addition, conflict has
contributed to energy shortages. While
Al Fasher town is safe for residents
and aid workers, most of them rely on
non-sustainably
harvested
fuelwood
transported by truck.
Al Fasher is one of the larger towns
in Darfur with a population of 228,036
(28,505 households) of whom 198,391 are
local residents and 29,645 are internally
displaced people. The population is
classified into four economic groups;
Boiling Point. ISSUE 58 — 2010
better off, middle income, poor and very
poor. The income of the majority of the
population comes from agro-pastoralist
activities, which are reliant on a single
rainy season annually. Incomes are very
low, rarely reaching US$30 a month.
Reason for project
The World Health Organization (WHO)
called for a rapid move away from the
use of solid fuels for household cooking
in developing countries, in favour of
liquids, gas and, where appropriate,
electricity (Rehfuess, 2006). Acute Lower
Respiratory Infection (ALRI) – largely due
to cooking smoke from solid fuels – is the
largest cause of death for children under
the age of five worldwide. This project is
providing modern Liquefied Petroleum
Gas (LPG) stove sets to low-income
families, allowing them to replace their
traditional three-stone fires, reduce fuel
expenditure, and reduce the exposure of
females to risks associated with collecting
firewood from the outskirts of Al Fasher
town. The LPG set comprises of a stove,
a filled gas bottle, and a Kisra (local
sorghum chapatti) plate. The modern
stove reduces greenhouse gas emissions
by facilitating the switch away from wood
and charcoal to more efficient fuels and
cookstoves. The switch to efficient fuels
reduces indoor air pollution, improves
health for the participating families and
reduces pressure on forest resources.
Carbon finance as a tool to
reduce energy poverty
The concept behind carbon finance is
simple: individuals and companies in
the industrialised world voluntarily fund
greenhouse gas reductions in developing
countries to compensate for their own
climate change pollution – in this project,
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GENERAL
Figure 2: LPG stove and oven
being exhibited by local cook
(Photo: Practical Action/
Margaret Gardener)
by supporting the use of cleaner stoves.
Burning unsustainably harvested wood and
charcoal in inefficient stoves increases global
greenhouse gas emissions. Even though
LPG is a fossil fuel, the LPG stoves result
in considerably lower emissions per unit
of cooking energy, producing measurable
greenhouse gas emission reductions.
To qualify for finance, it is necessary
to have the carbon credits ‘certified’ by an
outside body to show that the reduction in
emissions is really happening. While simple
in principle, the process of gaining thirdparty certification as a carbon credit project
can be quite complicated. Carbon credits
are measured in units of one metric tonne
of CO2 equivalent, and project developers
must prove that these emission reductions
are not ‘business as usual’. In other
words, project developers must estimate
or ‘project’ what emissions would have
occurred without the use of carbon finance
to support the project. Only emission
reductions below this baseline count as
carbon credits. An important requirement,
therefore, is that the project’s emission
reductions must be measurable using an
accepted monitoring methodology, and
verified by an independently accredited
third-party auditor. A second important
requirement is that the project is able to
demonstrate ‘additionality’ – showing that
the expectation of carbon finance helped
the project developers overcome otherwise
insurmountable barriers that would have
prevented those emission reductions from
occurring.
In order to be considered for
registration by a carbon credit certification
body, the project’s baseline measurements,
additionality arguments and monitoring
methodology are presented in a Project
Definition Document (PDD), which
follows a standardised format.
The
project developer is required to submit
regular monitoring reports, which are
verified by an independent third-party
auditor accredited by the carbon credit
certification body. Only when the auditor
and the certification body are satisfied that
the results from the monitoring report are
valid, and match the approach outlined in
the PDD, can the credits from the project
be issued and sold.
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In this project, the carbon management
company Carbon Clear Limited provided
100% of the external finance required to
implement the project, and is sponsoring
the costs of PDD development, validation
and verification. Without external support
the households involved in the project
would otherwise be unable to afford the
high upfront cost of LPG sets, despite
the fact that monthly fuel expenditure
is usually lower using the more efficient
LPG appliances. The project is being
implemented by Practical Action, as part
of the organisation’s ‘Improving Access
to Services’ thematic area. Carbon funds
allowed the project to buy in bulk, provide
micro-credit, and give business training to
local women’s groups to sell improved
fuels, stoves and ovens to poor households
through credit. Supported by Practical
Action staff, the stove programme is
managed by local women’s groups –
under the supervision of their networkWomen’s
Development
Association
Network (WDAN) so it is carried out by
the community for the community.
The project is undergoing Gold
Standard Certification based on its ability
not only to reduce greenhouse gases,
but also provide other socio-economic
benefits, such as a substantial reduction in
the levels of health-damaging pollutants
inhaled by the cook and her family in
the kitchen.
Project activities
A baseline study was conducted to
determine monthly fuel consumption
and expenditure, and to understand the
levels of awareness on the dangers of
both smoke pollution and environmental
degradation. Staple foods were recorded,
to ensure that the stove was appropriate
for the households in that region.
Awareness-raising
sessions
were
conducted for the project households
on the health hazards of smoke resulting
from inefficient burning of fuelwood, and
the negative environmental impact of fuel
gathering, and polluting gases. The sessions
then acquainted households with possible
means and methods to reduce indoor
smoke, and on the safe use of bottled gas.
At policy level, meetings were held with the
Ministry of Finance to influence them to
take a positive approach to the widespread
use of LPG by households in Al Fasher.
Approximately 37 women from the
WDAN were trained in the principles
of micro-credit, and on how to run the
scheme through efficient management,
accounting, bookkeeping and monitoring.
A structured finance scheme was set up.
The WDANs appoint ‘grantees’ to
manage the beneficiaries in groups. Each
group of beneficiaries is managed by their
WDA grantee and the beneficiary starts
by depositing 20% of the total cost and
then the remaining balance is paid in nine
monthly instalments. The repayment rate
to date is 93%.
Media was used to raise awareness
of the initiative. All the project activities
have been documented through local TV
(including three interviews), local radio
(10 interviews) and Practical Action
– Sudan Communication Unit. One
interview was conducted by the National
Broadcasting Corporation to bring
awareness of the work to a wider audience.
The project team made links with potential
partners and stakeholders, and the local
stakeholder group have two meetings each
month to keep everyone informed.
Ensuring the supply chain for fuel is
critical to success, and the project team has
had to work closely with fuel suppliers.
In the first quarter of 2009, a new fuel
company was approached to resolve some
supply issues. The new supplier is working
with the project to improve access to
LPG, and reduce the overall price. It will
work alongside the WDAN, providing a
repayment scheme for the gas bottles to
run alongside the repayment scheme for
the stoves.
Findings to date
The project has been running since 2007,
and already some substantial benefits have
been achieved:
— Over 2416 stoves have been
disseminated to households to date
(January 2010), eliminating the need
for people to gather or purchase
fuelwood and charcoal.
GENERAL
— Competition between gas companies
coming into the area is leading to
improvements for the customers. The
new supplier is prepared to build a
partnership with Practical Action
in project implementation, making
them agents in the distribution of gas,
reducing the price of gas and facilitating
the transportation of gas cylinders.
Backed with a bank guarantee from
Practical Action, it will allow credit on
the sale of cylinders which will be paid
back in instalments.
Impacts on women
— The social change for women is very
clear. Houses are cleaner, particularly
in the kitchen, and occupants are also
able to stay cleaner. The women who
cook feel that they are better respected
as a result.
— Women distributing stoves and
providing refills have improved
distribution networks for refilling the
gas bottles, so more people get their
bottles refilled on a regular basis.
— The second annual review of the project
for 2008-09 indicated that over 11,130
people have benefited directly from the
project in terms of learning to use LPG,
reducing indoor air pollution, and thus
improving family health and saving
income on fuel.
Impacts on men
The men in the project area are now
completely convinced that this project is
highly beneficial, since it influences their
daily lives, the amount of money they must
spend for fuel, their homes’ cleanliness
and their wives’ and children’s health.
The evidence of men’s support is
tangible; most of the men support their
wives in paying for refilling the gas bottles,
and for repaying the loan in instalments.
Moreover, they participate in project
meetings; and of the total LPG sets
supplied to date, 494 were requested by
men who applied for the service on behalf
of their family.
They are keen to continue the project
services without the support of Practical
Boiling Point. ISSUE 58 — 2010
Action once the project ends, and to
extend the services to neighbouring
communities.
Future plans
Transport costs increase the price of
the fuel as it leaves the terminal. This
is exacerbated by groups between the
terminal and destination sometimes
demanding ‘taxes’ for the safe arrival of
the fuel. The increased fuel price makes it
still harder for target households, which
are already very poor, to meet their loan
repayment commitments, and at the same
time pay for fuel. Most households have
kept up their payments on time, although
for a minority, this has not been possible.
Al Fasher is a conflict region, and the
lack of security outside of town has, on
occasion, led to shortages in fuel supply.
In the coming year, there are plans to:
— Facilitate the rotation of the LPG
system to enable the distribution of
around 2400 more stoves
— Increase training for WDAN staff
to consolidate their capacity in
management and revolving finance
— Conduct further awareness-raising and
safety sessions
— Make use of the opportunities for
advocacy at government level
— Encourage gas companies to promote
the use of LPG as a household fuel by
low-income households
— Consolidate the sustainability and
widening use of LPG.
Full implementation of the project
will be led by the women’s groups
including planning, distribution of LPG
units, controlling repayment processes,
monitoring, and dissemination of the
impacts of this continuing work.
Other issues
References
Demand is outstripping supply for seed
capital to run finance schemes, as many
more people want to join the scheme
immediately. Too rapid a growth can
put great strain on new management
unless this growth is carefully managed,
albeit some households have to wait a
little longer for their appliances. Practical
Action and Carbon Clear are exploring
options for scaling up the project partway
through the current phase.
For those who already own gas
appliances, there is a need for access to
refilling centres closer to their homes.
Without transport, gas bottles are heavy
to carry over long distances, and where
women are used to buying charcoal from
very near their homes, LPG has to be
equally accessible or they may revert to
using polluting fuels.
To address concerns over household
safety when cooks are using an unfamiliar
fuel, all households will be supplied with
fire extinguishers, ongoing sessions on
the safe use of LPG are planned, and a
technician will be trained to maintain
the stoves.
Rehfuess, E., WHO, 2006.
Fuel for life: Household energy
and health.
Challenges
Transport of fuel
Profile of the author
Hashim Eltayeb has a background in
agriculture, and previously worked for
the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP)
and then for Fellowship for African
Relief (FAR). For the last seven
years he has been the Quality
Assurance Manager for Sudan,
based at the Khartoum office of
Practical Action, Sudan.
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