Resource information
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.
