By BERNARD OSAWA
Last week, UN Habitat held its first assembly in Nairobi under the theme “Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities”.
According to the UN, 55 per cent of the world’s population live in urban areas and are set to increase to 70 per cent by 2050. As cities across emerging markets grow rapidly, resources and infrastructure are ever more stretched, posing numerous challenges to governments.
TOXIC SMOKE
In Kenya, most urban households rely on charcoal and kerosene while, globally, 2.8 billion people do not have access to clean cooking fuels. Use of charcoal causes potentially deadly indoor air pollution and carbon monoxide poisoning, while the devastating deforestation it drives continues to destroy our forests and water towers, affecting agricultural yields and weather patterns, thus risking our food security.
Meanwhile, kerosene produces toxic smoke and is associated with explosions and fires, especially in informal settlements.
Although the total economic cost of these unsafe fuels is enormous, they are typically the only viable option for many low-income earners due to their near-ubiquitous accessibility and relative affordability compared to cleaner options…Read more>>
