New Insights on Woodfuel Reliance and Human Welfare

Abstract

Over 3 billion people globally rely on woodfuels (fuelwood and charcoal) to meet basic energy needs for cooking and heating. Reliance on woodfuels and the emissions associated with burning them has major implications for climate, sustainable forest use, health and human well-being. We use data from approximately 7,000 households throughout the low income tropics collected by the Poverty Environment Network at the Center for International Forestry Research to provide new insights into the role of woodfuels in rural livelihoods and factors that influence their supply and demand.