6 The Status and Future of Charcoal in the Energy …
221
and consumers. Even though our interviewees in Nsero (Luwero district)
were able to explain the significant loss of trees over the 20 years of
their involvement in the trade, the producers are not well-equipped to
make scientific assessments of the far-reaching consequences of charcoal
production. The cost-friendliness of setting up earth-mound kilns has
increasingly made nomadism a more realistic and accessible approach
for rural producers than setting up stationary production points, such
as those seen in, e.g. Brazil and Kenya (Bailis, Rujanavech, Dwivedi,
Chang, & de Miranda, 2013; Nogueira, Coelho, & Uhlig, 2010), which
lead to higher logistical expenses in moving logs from where trees are
felled.
Degradation and/or loss of forests, wood- and bush-lands, wooded
savannas and even semi-arid landscapes are associated with the pursuit
of charcoal as a critical source of energy, and therefore are fundamental
issues of the global charcoal supply chain, which require an understanding of charcoal as a commodity that aggressively competes with
modern energy sources. Moreover, technological innovation should be
geared towards alternatives for safer cooking with less pollution in order
to curb the devastating health impacts of heavily relying on charcoal fuel.
This goal can be attained through targeted consumer education about
the side effects of charcoal to human health and related supply chain
issues, such as the origin of trees and risks of deforestation, in local and
international markets.
In energy development, in contrast to the advancement of other
common commodities, ‘demand’ and ‘consumption’ mean two very
different things, in that demand constitutes energy that the population
may require to satisfy a given purpose. On the other hand, consumption
is what is used by that population. The disconnect between the interpretation of these phenomena often leads to increased electricity generation
in sub-Saharan Africa, where consumption is not studied, but the investment is based on demand forecasts. In fact, when high demand forecasts
do not align with actual consumption, electricity as a commodity
becomes expensive, despite subsidies, as operators produce more and
then price highly, grappling with recuperating costs of investing in the
supply infrastructure. This reality further pushes consumers to the more
available and affordable competitor, charcoal, for cooking purposes, thus
221
and consumers. Even though our interviewees in Nsero (Luwero district)
were able to explain the significant loss of trees over the 20 years of
their involvement in the trade, the producers are not well-equipped to
make scientific assessments of the far-reaching consequences of charcoal
production. The cost-friendliness of setting up earth-mound kilns has
increasingly made nomadism a more realistic and accessible approach
for rural producers than setting up stationary production points, such
as those seen in, e.g. Brazil and Kenya (Bailis, Rujanavech, Dwivedi,
Chang, & de Miranda, 2013; Nogueira, Coelho, & Uhlig, 2010), which
lead to higher logistical expenses in moving logs from where trees are
felled.
Degradation and/or loss of forests, wood- and bush-lands, wooded
savannas and even semi-arid landscapes are associated with the pursuit
of charcoal as a critical source of energy, and therefore are fundamental
issues of the global charcoal supply chain, which require an understanding of charcoal as a commodity that aggressively competes with
modern energy sources. Moreover, technological innovation should be
geared towards alternatives for safer cooking with less pollution in order
to curb the devastating health impacts of heavily relying on charcoal fuel.
This goal can be attained through targeted consumer education about
the side effects of charcoal to human health and related supply chain
issues, such as the origin of trees and risks of deforestation, in local and
international markets.
In energy development, in contrast to the advancement of other
common commodities, ‘demand’ and ‘consumption’ mean two very
different things, in that demand constitutes energy that the population
may require to satisfy a given purpose. On the other hand, consumption
is what is used by that population. The disconnect between the interpretation of these phenomena often leads to increased electricity generation
in sub-Saharan Africa, where consumption is not studied, but the investment is based on demand forecasts. In fact, when high demand forecasts
do not align with actual consumption, electricity as a commodity
becomes expensive, despite subsidies, as operators produce more and
then price highly, grappling with recuperating costs of investing in the
supply infrastructure. This reality further pushes consumers to the more
available and affordable competitor, charcoal, for cooking purposes, thus