China, Alliance sign MoU
The Vice-Chair of the United Nations Foundation Board, former U.S. Senator Timothy E. Wirth, and the Vice-Chair of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China Minister, Xie Zhenhua, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between NDRC and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in Washington on April 9th and agreed to promote clean cooking solutions in China over the next three years. On behalf of China, NDRC joined the Alliance as a Country Partner in May 2012 and is the focal point overseeing cooperation in China. In coordination with NDRC, the Alliance will be working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Science and Technology and other stakeholders to promote the widespread adoption of clean cooking and heating solutions for rural households in China over the next three years.
While China is undertaking rapid urbanization, hundreds of millions of rural poor still lack of access to efficient, environmental-friendly, affordable and sustainable cooking and heating solutions. Seventy percent of Chinese rural households, or approximately 500 million people, still rely on solid fuels such as firewood and charcoal for cooking; Household air pollution (HAP) caused more than 1 million deaths each year, with about 1 billion people impacted by exposure to HAP, according the new Global Burden of Disease study. Explicit provisions of promoting the adoption of cleaner cookstoves and fuels have been codified in China’s current Five-Year Plan. With this partnership, China and the Alliance will address some of these issues together and bring significant health, climate and gender benefits to rural households in China.