Assessment of the Cambodian National Biodigester Program.

The National Biodigester Program (NBP) was established in 2006 to build and maintain household biodigesters in Cambodia. In its first six years, the program installed almost 20,000 biodigesters and established an in-country network of local financiers, construction companies, skilled masons, bioslurry specialists and after-care technicians accessible to rural users in 14 of 24 Cambodian provinces. Since its initial success, the program's adoption rates have stalled despite increasing government support and high rates of user satisfaction.

Low demand for nontraditional cookstove technologies.

Biomass combustion with traditional cookstoves causes substantial environmental and health harm. Nontraditional cookstove technologies can be efficacious in reducing this adverse impact, but they are adopted and used at puzzlingly low rates. This study analyzes the determinants of low demand for nontraditional cookstoves in rural Bangladesh by using both stated preference (from a nationally representative survey of rural women) and revealed preference (assessed by conducting a cluster-randomized trial of cookstove prices) approaches.

Greenhouse gas emissions and land use change from Jatropha curcas-based jet fuel in Brazil.

This analysis presents a comparison of life-cycle GHG emissions from synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPK) produced as jet fuel substitute from jatropha curcas feedstock cultivated in Brazil against a reference scenario of conventional jet fuel. Life cycle inventory data are derived from surveys of actual Jatropha growers and processors. Results indicate that a baseline scenario, which assumes a medium yield of 4 tons of dry fruit per hectare under drip irrigation with existing logistical conditions using energy-based coproduct allocation methodology, and assumes a 20-year plantation lifetime with no direct land use change (dLUC), results in the emissions of 40 kg CO₂e per GJ of fuel produced, a 55% reduction relative to conventional jet fuel.

Mortality and greenhouse gas impacts of biomass and petroleum energy futures in Africa.

We analyzed the mortality impacts and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by household energy use in Africa. Under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, household indoor air pollution will cause an estimated 9.8 million premature deaths by the year 2030.