Liquid gas becomes more expensive and the burning of wood increases – This has dire consequences

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz can be seen in the everyday lives of Finnish consumers in many ways. Prices have risen at the gas pump and when booking holiday flights. Mortgage borrowers feel the cost increase in their loan repayments.

In developing countries, however, the effects are even more palpable. The less money is available, the worse the rising cost of energy and food derails everyday life.

More than three billion people use LPG as their main source of energy for cooking. LPG can be used to cook warm food in places where there is no electricity network or where the network works uncertainly. It not only heats home kitchens, but also many street food restaurants.

LPG has been a significant improvement in the daily lives of millions of people over the past 15 years. India and Indonesia have promoted its use with various programs in the name of cleaner cooking.

International Energy Agency According to the IEA countries have succeeded in getting more than 800 million people to stop using harmful fuels for cooking.

Fuels harmful to health include, for example, wood, charcoal, coal, agricultural waste and petrol. They produce small particles that can be dangerous, especially indoors. LPG burns cleaner than them.

World Health Organization According to the WHO household air pollution caused nearly three million deaths in 2021. More than 300,000 of the dead were children under the age of five. Women and children are often responsible for cooking and collecting firewood in families.

Polluted air is connected to, for example, strokes, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Burning wood is also a climate issue. It accelerates deforestation and produces carbon black and methane, which warm the climate quickly.

The IEA has calculatedthat if all people in the world could cook food in clean ways, it would reduce emissions by 1.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. For comparison: air traffic’s carbon dioxide emissions are about a gigaton about a year.

Now the good development in cooking is under threat. When LPG deliveries have decreased and prices have risen sharply, especially the poorest economies have to resort to burning wood again.

The energy crisis does not treat us equally. Some compromise their holiday plans, others their health.

When the acute crisis eases, the eye should be turned to permanent solutions. Electric stoves are a possible option for some households. In many places, however, a more realistic solution is liquid gas, the availability and stocks of which should be strengthened.

Even though it is a fossil fuel, it is still a step in the better direction in terms of climate and health in cooking.