Read on Twitter
1/ Why Gas will and should be the future cooking fuel for urban DRC – a thread.
2/ 98% of cooking in urban DRC uses charcoal. Production of charcoal drives deforestation and funds armed groups. With a growing popln, the forests of DRC are being decimated at faster and faster rates to feed the cities. 90% of Virunga SS deforestation for Goma area charcoal
3/ We have looked a great deal at the best way to replace this. Gas (LPG) stands out as THE only viable solution to replace charcoal cooking at scale today. It is cheaper, better for the environment, easily adopted for cooking and can be quickly deployed
4/ Better for environment - are you sure? (many people ask). Yes! Gas cooking emits 15% of the CO2 emissions of charcoal and you do not need to chop down trees to produce it. Emissions in line with electricity after you factor in building the grid (prerequisite in Congo)
5/ Gas is 10-15% cheaper than charcoal. Govmt policies can have a big impact here (import duties, VAT) but with the right policies gas is a cheaper cooking fuel. The main cost barrier for gas, however, is the upfront cost of equipment required (cylinder deposit and stove)
6/ People find it culturally easier to transition from charcoal to gas. Cultural part of cooking is extremely important. Both gas and charcoal use a flame. Electricity can feel strange. Gas is also fast and clean saving (mainly) women time at home
7/ Tell me more about electricity? Can work, but only if it is super cheap and enough people are connected. S Africa sees lots but they have v cheap electricity + a high electrification rate. Solar powered cooking solutions not yet cheap/good enough to scale :(
8/ In the DRC cooking with electricity would cost around 2x charcoal + less than 10% of the population have access to grid. +++ most electricity generation is hydro with fixed gen capacity – cooking happens at same time leading to peaks in consumption (not good)
9/ What about biogas? Great for environment and interesting in some rural contexts where there are lots of feedstock (organic waste) from animals but not practical for urban centres. Even in rural areas feedstock can be an issue (China tried this)
10/ Does gas really protect the forests? Yes. Latin America has seen a huge switch to gas cooking since 1980. Despite popln growth of 1.5x charcoal production has not changed. Africa, on the other hand, has seen population growth of 2.2x and charcoal production growth of 2.5x.
11/ Summary: we need to scale gas cooking in DRC fast to protect the Congo rainforest. It is the best modern alternative that we have to charcoal available today.
