On Your Radar Screen

September 7, 2018
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106,000 stoves

have been installed

As a supporter of this project, you understand that improved cookstoves are a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. But not everyone does. For some, it’s an under-the-radar-screen kind of thing, but it shouldn’t be, because here are some of the facts:

  • As many as three billion people worldwide cook on open fires, and most of those open fires are fueled by wood.
  • When billions of people cook with wood, a lot of trees are cut, we lose our forests, and huge amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere.
  • About 18 million acres of forest are lost every year, of which 50%—9 million acres—is directly attributable to the collection of firewood as fuel.
  • The destruction of forests contributes 25% of the world’s total greenhouse gas production, almost as much as the entire global transportation system.
  • So, reducing the use of firewood as fuel will have a direct and significant impact on carbon emissions, deforestation, and climate change. And improved cookstoves do just that: reducing firewood use by as much as 60%, mitigating deforestation, and reducing CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.

Peru is one of the most heavily forested countries in the world, with some 206,000 square miles covered in trees. Only Brazil holds a larger area of Amazonian forest. But 1,100 square miles of Peru’s forests are cut down every year, accounting for nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

With a goal to install 1 million improved cookstoves in Peru, this project has already achieved over 106,000 installed, reducing CO₂ emissions by nearly 500,000 tonnes, and reducing firewood consumption by over 330,000 tonnes. You understand. Thank you for being informed! Thank you for your support!

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