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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
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*Muthiah: Time is Right, Time is Now for Clean Cookstoves*
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*Washington Post Story Overlooks Many Facts, Wrongly Concludes Timing is
Wrong for Worldwide Cookstove Movement** *
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*Washington, DC (April 19, 2012)* –* Radha Muthiah, Executive Director of
the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, issued the following statement
today in response to Brian Palmer’s April *17th Washington Post* story, *‘Too
many Cookstoves spoil the effort to cut indoor* *pollution*’*: ****
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“Despite the misleading title, the *Post *article correctly identifies the
scourge of cooking on open fires and rudimentary cookstoves as a global
health problem that demands urgent attention, highlighting World Health
Organization data that shows indoor air pollution kills 2 million people
every year. ****
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“Regrettably, the article seems to indicate that clean cookstoves do not
deliver measurable health impacts and therefore concludes that ‘we are not
yet ready to distribute clean cookstoves worldwide.’****
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“Nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, the timing for
clean cookstoves is right, and the time is now. ****
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“The reporter’s misinformed conclusion, which has implications globally,
was reached by looking at a few studies, including a very specific research
project entitled *Up in Smoke* that focuses on improved cookstoves in 44
Indian villages. Some of the results of this particular study demonstrate
that certain improved stoves did not significantly reduce indoor air
pollution, specifically, black carbon. ****
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“What that particular study also points out, which is not mentioned in the *
Post* article, is that certain stove types (advanced stoves) actually
performed well, and could do even better if users were properly trained and
stoves were further adapted to meet local needs. There are also other
considerable benefits provided by improved stoves on which the* *study did
not focus. ****
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“The journalist says that ‘public health is a tricky business,’ and indeed,
public health successes are not achieved overnight. Research and
development are critical to any kind of innovation, including clean
cookstoves, and as a sector innovates, progress is made over time.
Therefore, a ‘do nothing now and wait until the perfect solution is found’
approach – which the article seems to posit – is misguided at best and
dangerous at worst. ****
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“The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, on the other hand, is
supporting, engaging in, and promoting sector-wide research, as laid out in
the cookstove sector roadmap report, *Igniting Change: A Strategy for
Universal Adoption of Clean Cookstoves and
Fuels.<http://www.cleancookstoves.org/ignitingchange>
* This unprecedented gathering of 350 global experts outlined a
three-pronged approach to scaling up toward the Alliance’s own goal of 100
million households adopting clean cooking technologies by 2020, and
universal adoption by 2030: enhancing demand, strengthening supply, and
fostering an enabling environment. Conducting rigorous research is a major
component of creating the environment necessary for increased awareness,
funding, and action. The Alliance has already begun funding key research
projects, as well as issued a request for applications related to
decreasing stove-related injuries and deaths among young children.****
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“The bottom line is that wide-ranging, peer-reviewed research is critical
to the Alliance’s strategy and to its more than 300 global partners. ****
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“The Alliance’s mission is to foster sustainable markets for technologies
that people want, can afford, and will ultimately use. It is unfortunate
that a misleading headline and a narrowly focused article have the
potential to create the wrong impression and cause a setback to a sector
poised to deliver lasting, beneficial, innovative change to one of the
oldest and most intimate of human traditions: cooking a meal for oneself
and one’s family. ****
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*About the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves:*
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is an innovative public-private
partnership led by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve
livelihoods, empower women, and combat climate change by creating a
thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.
The Alliance’s 100 by ‘20 goal calls for 100 million households to adopt
clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020. The Alliance is working
with its public, private and non-profit partners to help overcome the
market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment, and use
of clean cookstoves in developing countries. Visit
www.cleancookstoves.orgfor more information.
****
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*Media Contact:* Sean Bartlett | 202.419.6401 |
sbartl...@cleancookstoves.org****
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