(KPL) Traditional unimproved cooking methods using charcoal and wood biomass leads to household air pollution that impacts human and environmental health, disproportionately affecting women and children and contributing to the 8,000 deaths from household pollution linked ailments in Laos annually.

Reduction in exposure to toxic smoke can be achieved by replacing traditional cooking methods with improved and increasingly affordable electric alternatives. E-cooking doesn’t sacrifice taste while saving lives and livelihoods by causes of disability and premature death.

These were among key messages at the Workshop on “Promoting Electric Cooking (e-cooking) in the Lao PDR: Opportunities and Barriers” that was organised by SNV Laos on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, through a project funded by EnDev. 

The event was held with the support of the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and with the coordination of the Lao Women’s Union and the Association for Rural Mobilisation and Improvement (ARMI).

In an effort to promote changes in cooking methods at the household level, the workshop heard from policymakers and international experts who shared experiences and insights from Laos, Cambodia, Nepal and beyond as part of efforts to unite key stakeholders and identify opportunities and barriers for scaling up electric cooking in the Lao PDR. 

The event was chaired by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Synava Souphanouvong, SNV Laos country director Anna Mutta and Ministry of Energy and Mines Department of Energy Efficiency and Promotion (DEEP) Director General Chantho Milattanapheng and attended by Embassy of Australia to the Lao PDR Deputy Head of Mission Dan Heldon.

Keynote Speakers included Prof. Ed Brown and Dr Samir Thapa of Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) online who were joined in person by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Director of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Division Mr Bounthee Saythongvanh, Government of Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre Executive Director Nawa Raj Dhakal , SNV Global Cooking Energy Advisor Bastiaan Teune and SNV Laos Energy Sector Leader Baburam Paudel.

A panel discussion moderated by SNV’s Global Technical Advisor Raphael Kim Nguyen has discussants including Energising Development (EnDev) Senior Energy and Climate Advisor Verena Johanna Brinkmann, UNDP Lao PDR Sub-regional Gender Specialist Manorama Sunuwar and World Bank Group Senior Environmental Specialist and Environment Coordinator Maurice Andres Rawlins. Attendees were engaged by MC Khamhou Phanludeth, a cooking performance by the team at Crowne Plaza Vientiane led by executive Chef Louis Yu-Ming Poh and a dramatic interpretation by Laos’ own Khao Niew Theater.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines Synava Souphanouvong said: “Promotion of electrical devices (e-cookstoves) for food preparation provides a significant opportunity to promote smarter cooking methods as well as to reduce deforestation and the greenhouse gasses that cause climate change while addressing air pollution within the household.” Deputy Minister Synava highlighted the availability of 80% renewable energy in Laos as well as the nation’s domestic electricity tariff, which he said was the second cheapest among the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

SNV Laos Country Director Anne Mutta said: “Cooking is strongly connected to gender inequalities at the household level. Collecting wood, cleaning pots, and tending to fire are all tasks that fall disproportionately on young girls and women. Smoke emissions also add to the greenhouse gasses that are responsible for climate change.”

Opportunities in Laos include renewable electricity and modernisation, availability and affordability of new technologies and reduction in overall costs while challenges include the increasing use of LPG, scale, upfront costs and culture, Prof. Brown and Dr Thapa said.

Citing e-cooking promotion efforts in Nepal with relevance to Laos, Mr Rawa Naj said his country aimed ensure reliable and affordable supply of electricity at household level, ensure a diverse and affordable supply of e-cookstoves, adequate planning and promotional measures alongside engagement, capacity building, quality assurance and service network and resource mobilization and financing.

The "Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cookstoves in the Greater Mekong Sub-region" project is implemented under global multi-donor Energising Development (EnDev) partnership.  This phase of the project is set to increase cooking with electrical equipment (e-cooking), increasing safety and sustainability and recommending the policy, strategy and national plans to achieve and clean and modern cooking in the Lao PDR by 2030.

Combustion of cooking fuel and associated smoke exposure contributes to serious health problems that lead to premature deaths and poor health outcomes for thousands of people in Laos and across the Mekong region and beyond every year. This health-hazard can be drastically reduced by advanced cookstoves that are cleaner, more energy efficient and safer than traditional stoves.

Across Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, over 65 million people still cook on traditional biomass stoves that contribute to local natural resource degradation and generate significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and smoke that pollute kitchens and the ambient air.

A combined total of 60,000 people die each year in these three Mekong region countries as a consequence of inhaling smoke from cooking, a figure similar to the number of deaths caused by diarrhoea, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

SNV is a mission-driven global development partner working across Asia and Africa with a mission is to strengthen capacities and catalyse partnerships that transform the agri-food, energy, and water systems to enable sustainable and more equitable lives for all.

KPL