By Abigael Joshua
Stakeholders have stepped up efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change through sensitisation and demonstration of clean cooking technologies at a market fair in Abuja.
The Sensitisation and Demonstration of Clean Cooking Technologies was organised by the Nigerian Alliance for Clean Cooking, in collaboration with other stakeholders on Saturday.
Country Director, Nigeria Solar Sister, Ms Chioma Ome, said it was important to eliminate unhealthy cooking habits to safeguard public health and reduce the impact of climate change.
She said the use of efficient cooking stoves significantly reduced environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
“The use of efficient cooking stoves reduces any impact on climate change. Cooking Technologies helps to reduce climate change challenges.
“This efficient cooking stoves use very little amount of charcoal by 70 per cent which makes it an adaptation mechanism,” she said.
She expressed concern that unhealthy cooking practices remained prevalent in both urban and rural areas, with many households still relying on open fires and three-stone cooking stands.
Ome emphasised the need for Nigerians to adopt clean and efficient cooking technologies.
“It is important that we do market fair like this to sensitise the public on the dangers of open-fire cooking, traditional cooking, and expose them to healthier forms of cooking.
“People need to be aware that their mode of cooking is not healthy for them. This clean cooking technologies reduce finances, it is safe, good, and affordable and is even consuming finance from them, she added.
She added that although the stoves had an upfront cost, they were cheaper in the long run when compared with the health and environmental costs of traditional cooking methods.
Ms Onyeka Ugwulebor, a representative of Roshan Renewables, described clean cooking technologies as welcome innovations that many Nigerians were eager to adopt.
“We have affordable stoves here and I believe that a lot of people want to rush to get, have such opportunity at this moment and grab them.
“For Roshan stoves, the cheapest is N7,000 and the highest is N25,000. So, it is easy to buy and easy to use.
Ugwulebor said that the stoves were smokeless, environmentally friendly and affordable, adding that they consumed fewer charcoal briquettes and were easy to use without posing health risks to users.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that charcoal briquettes are compressed blocks of biomass (like wood waste, palm kernel shells, or sawdust) mixed with a binder (like starch) and pressed into uniform shapes.
This provides a consistent, long-burning and often smokeless fuel for cooking, heating and industrial uses, offering an efficient alternative to firewood or lump charcoal. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Funmilayo Adeyemi
