FICCI Joins the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
“Each year 1.9 million people die from exposure to cookstove smoke. Nearly half the people in the world currently use polluting, inefficient stoves to cook their food each day. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is aimed at redressing these ills faced by mankind. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has decided to join the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. The announcement was made today by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at an event in Chennai, India. Secretary Clinton was joined at the event by Ambika Sharma Deputy Secretary General & Head- International and Rita Roy Choudhury, Director and Head Environment, Climate Change, Renewable Energy.”
“FICCI will support the Alliance and work as a Champion to support this important global initiative. FICCI through its extensive domestic networks and large membership base will create widespread awareness on this important initiative as well as disseminate information. FICCI as an apex industry body can provide extensive outreach for the Alliance. FICCI’s Vice President, Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, herself a champion for the environment, says “This initiative will help support rural livelihoods, improve women’s health, and provide a cleaner environment. It will also generate employment to several million people engaged in the development and dissemination of cook stoves across the country. Most importantly, if women’s health can be supported, we would help to build better rural societies.” FICCI will garner support for this initiative through its Environment, SME and Financial Inclusion Committees. India will be an important destination for this Alliance as the use of traditional biomass cookstoves is widespread in rural areas. The Alliance’s ‘100 by 20’ goal (adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels in 100 million households by 2020) will be achieved in part through the support of organizations such as FICCI.”