THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, September 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Shell today pledged an additional $6 million to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which aims to save lives and protect the environment through the use of improved cookstoves and fuels. This follows $6 million of Shell funding announced in 2010, and the secondment of a Shell employee to the Alliance. Shell is the single largest private-sector contributor to the Alliance.
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Globally, nearly three billion people still cook food and warm their homes using solid fuels, such as wood or charcoal. It is estimated that daily exposure to smoke from open fires and basic cookstoves contributes to four million premature deaths each year, with women and children most affected. Furthermore, the time spent searching for wood and other fuels takes millions of women and children away from earning a living or attending school, and inefficient cookstoves contribute increased emissions of greenhouse gases and black carbon, or soot, to the atmosphere.
Encouraging the use of specially designed clean cookstoves, which can significantly reduce fuel use, cooking time and emissions, is an internationally recognised solution.
"Nearly half of the world's population do not have access to modern energy that is safe, reliable and affordable," said Hugh Mitchell, Chief Human Resources and Corporate Officer, Royal Dutch Shell plc. "Cooperation among business, government and society is essential to addressing such a large-scale challenge.
"The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a strong example of how collaboration across sectors can help bring modern energy solutions to the developing world. Shell is pleased to continue its support for the Alliance to encourage the widespread adoption of cleaner, more efficient cookstoves and fuels."
The Alliance is a public-private partnership founded in 2010 by the United Nations Foundation. Shell became a founding partner to make a positive impact on a global energy-related challenge.
The Alliance aims to switch 100 million homes to clean and efficient stoves and fuels by 2020. It targets the market barriers that impede the production, deployment and use of clean cookstoves in developing countries.
Shell's $6 million donation announced today will be phased, and brings Shell's total donation to the Alliance to $12 million during the period of 2011-2016.
"From day one, Shell has been a tremendously effective and engaged partner in the Alliance's efforts to support entrepreneurs and raise awareness about this little known issue," said Radha Muthiah, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. "Shell's renewed commitment to the Alliance, in conjunction with its multifaceted expertise and global reach, will enable us to deepen our in-country market-development activities, and help to spur the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels at scale."
Shell's contribution is targeted to maximise its impact, and so far has been directed towards the development of global standards, regional testing centers and a market assessment toolkit for the cookstoves sector. Market assessments funded by Shell were carried out in Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa and Timor Leste, and are underway in China. In addition, Shell helped launch "Spark Fund" in 2012, which provides grant capital to scale up enterprises that have the potential to transform the cookstoves sector.
Shell's support builds on work of Shell Foundation, an independent charity. For more than 10 years, Shell Foundation has been active in developing the clean cookstoves market as a way to deliver social and environmental impact at scale. It works across the value chain to pioneer sustainable ways to supply stoves to homes in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and to tackle market barriers such as affordability, customer awareness and rural distribution. This work has benefited more than four million people. Shell Foundation's efforts to convene networks of practitioners led to the creation of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves with the UN Foundation in 2010.
Notes to Editors
Access to energy
Globally more than 1.2 billion people are without access to electricity and 2.8 billion people rely on wood or other biomass to cook and heat their homes, according to the World Bank. More than 95% of these people are either in sub-Saharan African or developing Asia, and 80% are in rural areas.
Access to modern energy is widely recognised as a critical enabler of economic and social development. It allows communities to build new roads, hospitals and schools. Families can heat, cool and light their homes, and safely prepare warm meals. Numerous studies have shown that energy access is fundamental to reducing poverty, increasing productivity, enhancing competitiveness, and promoting economic growth.
According to the International Energy Agency, achieving universal access to energy by 2030 could cost the world around $1 trillion in cumulative investment - or about $49 billion per year - which is less than a 5% increase on what is currently invested in energy each year.
Clean cooking solutions
For many in the developing world, cooking food, boiling water and heating or cooling their homes can be fraught with challenges. Women and children can face severe personal risks as they search for fuel, especially near refugee camps and in conflict zones. Daily exposure to the harmful smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires is said to contribute to four million premature deaths annually with women and young children the most affected, according to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Inefficient cookstoves also contribute to climate change through the emissions of greenhouse gasses and black carbon, or soot. Time spent collecting fuel could be better spent on income generation, education or other activities. Where fuel must be purchased, the cost places a high burden on families struggling to meet their basic needs.
Fortunately, the prospects for success are stronger than ever before. Cleaner, more fuel efficient cookstoves now exist that, if deployed in large numbers, could alleviate pressure on natural resources, reduce environmental impacts, provide health benefits and provide new economic opportunities for women and their families.
Shell and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
Shell's core business is providing innovative energy solutions. Energy access is a key theme of Shell's social investment strategy worldwide. Shell is leveraging its financial contribution to the Alliance by bringing technical and business skills to help the Alliance achieve its goals. Through the secondment of a Shell professional, Shell has provided business expertise to attract financing to the cookstoves sector. The secondee is helping the Alliance attract investors and increasing access to carbon finance for clean cooking enterprises. Shell is also raising awareness across its networks and helping to recruit more public and private partners for the Alliance.
Shell Foundation
Shell Foundation is an independent charity set up by Shell in 2000 to catalyse enterprise-based solutions to tackle global development challenges at scale and in ways that are sustainable. Shell Foundation has pioneered a model that uses business thinking, patient grant funding and extensive business support to address issues such as access to energy, urban mobility and sustainable job creation. It now has several long-term partners that are achieving large-scale impact across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
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