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.