The carbon market is fueling a shift to clean cookstoves in developing countries, saving lives and reducing costs to cash-strapped households.

Carbon finance is now the top source of funding for cookstoves, making up 36% of all reported finance compared to government grants at 25%, according to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (report).

In a bright spot for cookstove project developers, the Alliance found that pricing remains strong, with the overall price rising 5% to $10.4 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). The average spot price of voluntary emission reductions and certified emissions reductions (CERs) from the UN’s clean development mechanism both rose significantly, to USD12.2/tCO2equivalent and USD6.4/tCO2e, respectively, in 2013. Read more.

Nearly 3 billion people worldwide still lack access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, heating and lighting. In 2012 alone, no fewer than 4.3 million children and adults died prematurely from illnesses caused by household air pollution, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO). Read more about the WHO's new guidelines on indoor air quality: household fuel combustion.

Black carbon from sources including cookstoves, diesel engines, flaring from oil and gas platforms is also aggravating climate change, the melting of ice sheets and glaciers and damaging significant quantities of crops. Read more at the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.

Under the UN's clean development mechanism, emission reduction projects that contribute to sustainable development earn a CER credit for each tonne of CO2e they reduce or avoid. CERs can be traded and sold and used by countries, companies, large events and individuals to help meet an emission reduction goal. Measure your emissions, reduce what you can and offset the rest.

Photo by: Centre for Rural Technology, Nepal
CDM Project 4530: Efficient Fuel Wood Cooking Stoves Project in Foothills and Plains of Central Region of Nepal