Households’ Clean Cooking Fuel Poverty: Testing the Energy-Ladder Hypothesis in the Case of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study explores clean cooking fuel poverty in Bangladeshi households based on the energy ladder hypothesis stating that as income increases, households switch towards cleaner cooking fuels. Data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Household Survey (BDHS) 2017-18 reveals that 20.45% of households use advanced or cleaner cooking fuels, while a majority (79.23%) still rely on primitive or traditional cooking fuels. Electricity is used by a very small percentage (0.57%), while LPG is used by a slightly higher proportion (6.96%). Biogas usage is minimal (0.11%), and a small percentage (0.03%) still relies on kerosene. Wood is the dominant fuel (46.25%), and other minor sources include charcoal (0.10%), straw/shrubs/grass (0.63%), agricultural crop residues (25.96%), and animal dung (6.39%). The results reveal that only a small proportion of households (20.45%) are classified as "clean cooking fuel non-poor," indicating a limited adoption of cleaner cooking technologies in Bangladesh. Further analysis indicates a gradual increase in clean cooking fuel usage as wealth status improves. Only 0.25% of the poorest households use clean fuels, while the percentage increases to 0.68% in the "poorer" category, 3.92% in the "middle" wealth category, and 24.51% in the "richer" category. Among the wealthiest households, 70.64% use clean cooking fuels. The study highlights the urgent need for policymakers in Bangladesh to address clean cooking fuel poverty by implementing measures like subsidies, awareness campaigns, and infrastructure development to promote cleaner cooking technologies, thereby improving public health and environmental sustainability.

Keywords

• Energy ladder hypothesis
• Clean cooking fuel poverty
• Bangladesh Demographic and Household Survey (BDHS)
• Clean cooking technologies
• Households’ wealth status