Wood fuel is a major component of Africa’s future and will remain a significant source of renewable energy in the region by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency’s regional energy outlook. How the region will cope with the demands of its fast-growing population, without compromising its forests, is a huge challenge.
“We need effective and innovative interventions to reduce demand and enhance the sustainability of wood fuel supply,” said Xia Zuzhang, a forestry officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who spoke at the recent Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) digital conference in Bonn, Germany on sustainable wood fuel value chains for food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
However, 2.8 billion people globally lack access to clean cooking solutions, the majority of which rely heavily on harvested wood and trees from the forests, a recent Sustainable Development Goals progress report on affordable and clean energy revealed. In Africa, around 63 percent of households use wood fuel for cooking, FAO reports. Read more…
