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WBGx: The Hidden Side of Energy Access: Clean Cooking

This course is based on the World Bank’s “The Hidden Side of Energy Access: Clean Cooking”. This course explores the hidden side of energy access by uncovering the reality that over 4 billion people around the world currently lack access to modern energy cooking services (MECS) for their daily cooking needs. Throughout the developing world, households still cook with firewood and charcoal on rudimentary stoves in poorly ventilated rooms, resulting in significant negative impacts for health, gender, the environment, and our climate.

The Hidden Side of Energy Access: Clean Cooking
4 weeks
2–3 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Mar 28

About this course

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Stagnating progress on this development agenda costs the world an estimated 2.4 trillion USD per year. In this four-part learning series, you will familiarize yourself with core concepts in the clean cooking sector, uncover the nuanced and contextual nature of accessing modern cooking solutions, learn about innovative financing approaches, and discover recommendations for actors seeking to make clean cooking a reality for households across the world.

The course features four distinct learning modules. Module 1 will introduce the topic, define MECS, and describe the Multi-Tier Framework. Module 2 will describe current access rates around the world and uncover demand- and supply-side barriers to adoption. Module 3 will explain the evolution of the sector, define the ‘least-cost, best-fit’ approach, and explore examples of national clean cooking programs. Finally, Module 4 will conclude with a course recap and recommendations for a range of sectoral actors seeking to drive MECS access forward.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Supply And Demand, Cooking, Innovation

What you'll learn

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At the end of the course, participants will be able:

  • Assess the negative impacts of traditional cooking practices.
  • Explain the concept of MECS.
  • Describe the Multi-Tier Framework.
  • Map the trends in fuel and stove use around the world.
  • Evaluate the demand and supply side factors that influence adoption.
  • Uncover financing as a key barrier to progress.
  • Explain the evolution of decision-making in the clean cooking sector.
  • Assess the ‘least-cost, best-fit’ approach, as well as results-based financing.
  • Describe examples of national programs and the role of the public sector.
  • Explain the key priority areas for actors working on the clean cooking agenda.
  • Describe recommendations for national governments, donors and development partners, and private investors.
  • Provide a recap of the entire course and overview of the state of access to MECS.

Week 1: Making the Case for Modern Energy Cooking Services

This week will begin with an introduction to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.1 – “ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services”. You will uncover the negative effects of the continued reliance on biomass fuels on basic stoves on health, gender, the environment, and our climate. You will also be introduced to the costs of inaction, estimated at 2.4 trillion USD per year. Furthermore, you will explore the Multi-Tier Framework (MTF), an innovative tool to assess household access rates and describe progress on the SDG7 agenda in a more contextual and nuanced way.

Week 2: Assessing the Supply and Demand for MECS __

This week will map the trends in fuel use around the world, while also learning about factors that influence household adoption of modern solutions. The supply side of MECS will be described, including a broad overview of the ecosystem of actors in the clean cooking sector and industry economics.

Week 3: Creating Enabling Environments for MECS __

This week will describe the evolution of the clean cooking sector, culminating in the current approach of assessing access to MECS in a more nuanced, contextualized way by applying the MTF. You will be introduced to national clean cooking programs and the ‘least-cost, best-fit’ approach, which seeks to tailor MECS solutions to user needs, local market conditions, and comparative advantages.

Week 4: Designing Recommendations for MECS __

This week will deep dive on various sector-wide recommendations to drive progress on the clean cooking agenda. More specific recommendations for national governments, donors and development partners, and private investors/entrepreneurs will also be described.

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