U.S. Senator Introduces Bill to Support Clean Cookstoves
A bill introduced this week in the U.S. Senate shows increasing momentum around the Alliance’s strategy for building a global clean cookstoves sector. The Alliance has been working for months with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), who on Monday introduced a bill “to promote the use of clean cookstoves and fuels to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat harmful pollution by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.” The measure is co-sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), at time when bipartisan support for any bill is significant.
If passed, the legislation would formally authorize funding for several U.S. government agencies that support the work of the Alliance, including the State Department, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health. This authorization is consistent with the U.S. government commitments that have been announced in the past. The legislation also formally recognizes and supports the U.S. government commitment to the Alliance.
Sen. Collins explained the importance of the bill, saying, “By supporting the work of the Alliance to replace primitive stoves with modern versions that emit far less soot, this legislation would directly benefit some of the world's poorest people and reduce harmful pollution that affects us all.”