Clean Energy
The County Government of Nakuru has embarked on a promotional campaign to accelerate adoption of modern clean cooking technologies to mitigate the effects of climate change and help reduce rising cases of diseases occasioned by dirty fuels.
This comes even as the County’s administration indicated that the public awareness campaign was a way of supporting the national government’s Clean Cooking Strategy formulated by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum aimed at keeping Kenya on track to achieving its target of universal access to clean energy by 2028.
County Chief Officer for Environment Mr Kennedy Mungai said overreliance on traditional fires and traditional cooking stoves and fuels was one of the most pressing health and environmental problems that calls for urgent action.
The World Health Organization, the Chief Officer estimates that 84 percent of Kenyan households primarily rely on solid fuels such as wood, charcoal and crop residues that emit toxic fumes and which contribute immensely to indoor pollution. The World Health Organization further identifies household air pollution as a global environmental risk, causing some 1.6 million premature deaths per year worldwide,” he added.
Speaking during a conference organized by the Department of Environment with support from ‘Power Up Kenya’ to sensitize technical officers on clean cooking solutions, Mr Mungai said the initiative will promote solutions that include climate friendly efficient biomass stoves and also switch from use of solid biomass and kerosene to clean and environmentally friendly options.
These options, he elaborated, include biogas, bioethanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), solar photovoltaic (PV) and electric cooking. He said modern cooking stoves were highly efficient and could reduce fuel use by up to 60 percent, resulting in fewer emissions of greenhouse gases and other toxics.
The Energy Ministry indicates that about 59 percent of households in Kenya use traditional fireplaces for cooking while only 30 percent have access to clean cooking solutions. The Ministry of Health estimates that about 23,000 deaths in Kenya are attributed to household air pollution annually, with indoor pollution said to disproportionately affecting women, girls and children who spends extended time looking for fuel and cooking meals thereby bearing the brunt of exposure to long hours of a smoky kitchen environment.
Mr Mungai explained that modern cooking fuels alleviate the need to extract biomass energy sources such as wood-fuel from forests and ecosystems, thus contributing to the preservation of the environment. He stated that the campaign will be useful in positively influencing public knowledge, attitudes and social norms related to cooking behavior in households with respect to climate friendly cooking solutions.
The Chief Officer added that statistics show that cooking contributes to 70 percent of the Green-House Gas emissions in Kenya where he said about 93.2 percent of rural households use wood-fuel (fuelwood or charcoal) as their primary fuel, while 30 percent of the population use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) with only 3 percent of households said to be owning an electric cooking appliance.
County Director for Environment Ms Grace Karanja observed that while some Kenyans know the negative impact of cooking smoke, many are not aware of how clean and efficient cooking stoves and fuels can benefit them on a daily basis. She said the smoke from dirty fuel also contributes to a range of chronic illnesses and acute health impact such as early childhood pneumonia, emphysema, cataracts, lung cancer, bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, and low birth weight.
Article 42 of the Constitution guarantees Kenyans the right to a clean and healthy environment achieved through legislative and other measures.