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Efficient And Clean Cooking For Households In Somalia

In Somalia, where climate challenges intersect with economic hardship, a cookstove climate project is creating lasting change. BURN Manufacturing’s initiative demonstrates how strategic climate financing can transform communities while combating environmental degradation.

The Challenge: Why Somalia Needs Climate Project Investment

Somalia presents a compelling case for climate financing. Nearly 11 million people lack access to electricity. Traditional biomass accounts for 80 to 90 percent of energy needs. This dependency drives alarming deforestation rates in an already fragile ecosystem. Only 10.5 percent of the country remains covered in forests, with 35,000 hectares being lost each year. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line.

A Revolutionary Climate Project Solution: The JIKOKOA Stove

At the heart of this climate project is the JIKOKOA, a fuel-efficient biomass stove. All the stoves are manufactured by BURN in Kenya. The innovative technology of the stove delivers remarkable results:

  • 64% reduction in charcoal consumption
  • 65% decrease in indoor air pollution
  • Significant reduction in smoke-related health issues

Measurable Climate Project Impacts Since 2019

The success of this climate financing initiative is evident in its impressive metrics:

  • 118,954 stoves distributed
  • 2 million lives positively impacted
  • 1.6 million tons of wood preserved
  • 1 million ton of CO2 emissions prevented

Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Financing Success

This climate project aligns with multiple SDGs, demonstrating the comprehensive impact of well-structured climate financing:

Climate Action

The JIKOKOA’s reduction in fuel consumption directly contributes to limiting CO2 emissions. Since 2019, this climate project has prevented 1 million tons of CO2 emissions while actively combating deforestation.

Poverty Reduction

Independent research by the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley validates the JIKOKOA as an outstanding investment for families. The cookstove contributes to 45 percent of monetary savings related to the purchase of charcoal.

Affordability is reportedly one of Somalia’s most significant barriers to adopting and using clean cooking. According to Somali Integrated Household Budget Survey in 2022, 54.4% of Somalis live below the poverty line and according to UN that number is almost 70%. Carbon financing has been used to subsidize the project stove costs by up to 35.48% (a reduction in the stove price from $31 to $20).

Health Improvements

According to the Clean Cooking Alliance, traditional cooking methods cause 3 million premature deaths annually. This climate project addresses this crisis by reducing indoor air pollution by 65%, with documented health improvements among users.

Economic Development

BURN Manufacturing operates from solar-powered facilities in Kenya. This climate financing success story has created 125 local jobs while expanding distribution networks across Africa.

Project Verification

This climate project is verified by the Gold Standard Impact Registry, ensuring accountability and transparency in climate financing. Available carbon credits come from the 2023 vintage period.

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Harnessing Ocean Winds: The Thanh Hai Wind Power Project

picture of the climate project thanh hai in vietnam

We are super happy that members and customers of GoClimate has supported yet another Gold Standard certified climate project, this time a wind project in Vietnam.

The renewable energy revolution is ongoing, but we need more speed and scale to be able to stop climate change in time. Finance to projects like this makes it more financially attractive to build renewable energy instead of increasing fossil fuel use. This is exactly the type of initiative that takes us to the path of stopping climate change.

Thank you everyone that contriubuted!

The project

Vietnam’s reliance on fossil fuels for electricity is being challenged by renewable projects like the Wind Power Plant Thanh Hai. Located in Thanh Hai commune, Thanh Phu district, Ben Tre province, this offshore wind farm has a total capacity of 110 MW and an annual electricity output of 356.95 GWh.

Project Overview: Thanh Hai Wind Power Plant

Location: Viet Nam
Type: Wind Power
Certification: Gold Standard

Certified Sustainable Development Goals

7. Affordable and Clean Energy
The project generates clean energy, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
Creation of jobs and boosting the local economy.

13. Climate Action
Significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Solution

The Thanh Hai Wind Power Plant involves constructing an offshore wind farm with turbines of 4.25-4.5 MW capacity each, installed in four phases. The generated electricity is exported to the national grid, enhancing Vietnam’s renewable energy infrastructure.

The Impact

  • Environmental Benefits: With a gross annual electricity output of 356.95 GWh, the project substantially cuts down greenhouse gas emissions by reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
  • Economic Growth: The project supports local economies through job creation and infrastructure development.
  • Sustainable Development: By generating affordable and clean energy, the project aligns with global sustainability goals and sets a precedent for future renewable projects in the region.

Supported by Gold Standard certification, the Thanh Hai Wind Power Project is a step towards a sustainable energy future for Vietnam.

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Henan Funiushan Solar Cooker Project

Despite the rapid modernisation in China’s cities, a visit to the country’s rural areas would tell a very different story. Many families still rely on coal stoves to boil water for purification, to cook their daily meals and to heat their homes.

This project has enabled rural households to efficiently substitute fossil fuel (coal) used in daily cooking and water boiling with solar energy, avoiding CO2 emission that would be generated by the burning of fossil fuels. A total of 49,000 solar cookstoves will be distributed to families in 8 rural villages across Henan province – cutting emissions, improving air quality and saving families valuable time and money.

The following SDG’s are supported:

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Smart Biogas Stoves for Rural Households


With these smart biogas stoves we fight climate change while Improving health and quality of life for people living in rural uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

This climate project is Gold Standard-certified and through this project we have together prevented 32,688 tonnes of CO2e from entering the atmosphere!

The problem

The use of burning wood when boiling water and cooking food represents a big problem for many families and for the environment. It contributes to indoor pollution, causing severe health issues mainly among women and children, who are overwhelmingly responsible for running the household, and families have to walk up to 5 km to collect firewood and it is heavy on the families’ budget. The reliance on wood for cooking puts pressure on surrounding forests, leading to degraded lands and increased desertification.

How the project fights climate change

The digesters are fed with cow dung and organic kitchen waste to produce biogas, which is then piped to a thermal stove, providing thermal energy for cooking and boiling water, on demand. The biogas systems are long-lasting, easy to install and maintain, and do not cost money to run.

To date, this project has installed over 15,000 smart biogas systems to rural families across Uttar Pradesh & Maharashtra.

You can see the project at the Gold Standard-registry here: https://registry.goldstandard.org/projects/details/1097

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9 anledningar för företag att satsa på hållbarhet

Att jobba med hållbarhet kan ge flera fördelar, både för företaget självt och för vårt samhälle och vår planet. I det här blogginlägget tittar vi på 9 fördelar med att jobba med hållbarhet och implementera hållbarhetsrapportering i ditt företag.

1. Långsiktig stabilitet och lönsamhet

Krav på hållbart företagande kommer redan idag från kunder, anställda, investerare, banker, politiker och andra intressenter och allt tyder på  att de kraven kommer öka framåt. Att satsa på hållbarhet bidrar därför till en mer stabil och lönsam verksamhet över tid. Och om inte ni blir mer hållbara så kommer kunder och anställda hellre jobba hos konkurrenter som är mer hållbara.

Att jobba med hållbarhet handlar helt enkelt om att framtidssäkra sitt bolag.

2. Stärkt varumärke

Företag som arbetar med hållbarhet förstår vart samhället är på väg och visar att de är mer ansvarstagande. Genom att jobba med hållbarhet så minskar du även risken för dålig publicitet.

Att jobba med hållbarhet gör företaget mer attraktivt.

3. Minskade kostnader

Att arbeta med hållbarhet kan hjälpa företag att identifiera områden där de kan spara pengar, till exempel genom att minska energiförbrukning, minska avfall, återanvända datorer och telefoner, resa mindre och generellt effektivisera resursanvändningen.

Du kommer spara pengar på att jobba med hållbarhet.

4. Sälj mer

Företag som är duktiga på hållbarhet och transparenta med sin hållbarhet kan locka fler kunder som värdesätter ansvarsfulla och miljövänliga företag. Genom att vara mer hållbart är det lättare och roligare för kunder, säljare och andra anställda att prata om era tjänster och produkter. Kunder rekommenderar hellre ett hållbart bolag en ett icke hållbart.

Detta kommer leda till ökad försäljning och större marknadsandelar.

5. Identifiera risker och möjligheter

Hållbarhetsarbete och rapportering hjälper företag att identifiera och hantera risker och möjligheter kopplade till miljö, sociala frågor och företagsstyrning. Detta leder till bättre beslutsfattande och affärsstrategier och att snabbare och mer strukturerat identifiera risker.

Att jobba med hållbarhet minskar risker och gör det lättare att fånga möjligheter.

6. Uppfylla lagkrav och standarder

Det finns redan idag lagar och standarder som kräver att större företag rapporterar om sin hållbarhet. Snart kommer exempelvis CSRD och ställer ännu högre krav på ännu fler företag kring att jobba med och rapportera hållbarhet.

Att jobba med hållbarhet är och kommer bli ett lagkrav för många företag.

7. Motivera anställda

Att vara ett hållbart företag kan bidra till att skapa en mer positiv och engagerad arbetsmiljö. Anställda som känner att deras arbetsgivare tar hållbarhetsfrågor på allvar är ofta mer motiverade, stolta och produktiva.

Hållbarhet gör dina anställda bättre.

8. Driva innovation och tillväxt

Att jobba med hållbarhet kan uppmuntra företag att utveckla nya idéer och affärsmodeller som är mer hållbara och lönsamma. Detta kan leda till innovation och tillväxt på både kort och lång sikt.

Din affär kan utvecklas och bli bättre när du jobbar med hållbarhet.

9. Det är rätt sak att göra

Forskningen är tydlig, vi är på väg åt fel håll när det gäller klimatet och flera andra planetära gränser så som biologisk mångfald. Att ta ansvar för vad vi jobbar med och bidra till att ta samhället och planeten till en bättre plats är moraliskt och etiskt rätt sak att göra. För oss själva men också för nästa generation.

Det kommer kännas bättre i magen att ta tag i ert hållbarhetsarbete,

Sammanfattningsvis är hållbarhet en viktig del i att bygga ett framgångsrikt företag. Genom att fokusera på dessa 9 fördelar kan ditt företag skapa långsiktig stabilitet, stärka sitt varumärke, spara pengar och driva innovation, samtidigt som det bidrar till en mer hållbar värld. Investera i hållbarhet idag för att säkerställa en ljusare framtid för både ditt företag och vår planet.

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Kutch Wind Power Project in India

The GoClimate community is now supporting the Kutch Wind Power Project in India. The project is Gold Standard-certified and GoClimates contribution amounts to 20 000 tonnes of avoided CO2e-emissions.

Introduction

India has been experiencing a rapid growth in energy demand, resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. In order to diversify the energy mix and promote sustainable development, heavy investments in renewable energy sources, such as wind power, is needed. One example of this is the Kutch Wind Power Project, which has been making significant contributions to the nation’s clean energy goals and local communities.

Kutch Wind Power Project: An Overview

Located in the Kutch region of Gujarat, the Kutch Wind Power Project consists of 150 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 2 MW. With a total installed capacity of 300 MW, the project generates approximately 700,000 MWh of clean energy annually.

Climate Benefits

The Kutch Wind Power Project’s positive impact on the environment is big. By generating clean, renewable energy, the project helps in reducing India’s reliance on fossil fuels and curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that the project prevents the release of over 550,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents per year, which is equivalent to taking more than 117,000 cars off the road annually.

Socioeconomic Benefits

Beyond its environmental benefits, the Kutch Wind Power Project also provides various socioeconomic advantages to the local communities. 73 employment opportunities have been created for local workers, both during the construction and operational phases of the wind farm. Moreover, it has helped enhance the skill sets of the local workforce through technical training and capacity building programs.

The project has also made significant contributions to the development of local infrastructure. It has helped improve the accessibility of remote areas by constructing and maintaining roads. Additionally, the project has facilitated the installation of street lighting, improving safety and security in nearby villages.

Furthermore, the project supports several community development initiatives, such as providing clean drinking water, promoting education, and improving healthcare facilities. By investing in these essential services, the Kutch Wind Power Project contributes to the overall well-being and quality of life for the local population.

Conclusion

The Kutch Wind Power Project stands as a testament to the transition to a sustainable energy future. By harnessing the power of wind, the project not only contributes to climate change mitigation efforts but also fosters socioeconomic development in the region. As India continues to invest in renewable energy, projects like the Kutch Wind Power Project serve as an inspiration for other countries to follow suit in the global pursuit of a greener, more sustainable future.

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CSRD – vad är det och varför är det viktigt?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) är ett begrepp som har blivit allt vanligare på senare år, och handlar om hur företag tar ansvar för sin påverkan på samhället och miljön. CSR innefattar bland annat frågor som mänskliga rättigheter, arbetsförhållanden och miljöpåverkan. Ett viktigt verktyg för att bedöma företags CSR-arbete är CSR Disclosure, eller CSRD.

CSRD handlar om hur företag rapporterar om sitt hållbarhetsarbete och resultatet av det. CSRD är ett viktigt verktyg för att bedöma hur väl företag lever upp till sina hållbarhetsambitioner.

När träder CSRD i kraft?

Från och med 2024 kommer alla större företag inom EU att vara skyldiga att rapportera om sin CSR-verksamhet och resultat.

Vilka företag omfattas av CSRD?

Reglerna för vilka företag som omfattas av CSRD är följande:

1 januari 2024 (rapportering 2025) för företag/koncerner som är stora, är av allmänt intresse och med fler än 500 anställda.

1 januari 2025 (rapportering 2026) för stora företag/koncerner. De företag som omfattas uppfyller två av tre av följande kriterier: 350 miljoner kronor eller mer i omsättning, 175 miljoner kronor eller mer i balansomslutning eller 250 anställda eller fler.

1 januari 2026 (rapportering 2027) för små och medelstora företag noterade på en marknadsplats samt små och icke-komplexa kreditinstitut.

Fördelar

Förutom att vara ett sätt att visa upp företagens CSR-arbete, kan CSRD också ha andra fördelar. Genom att rapportera om sin CSR-verksamhet kan företag locka till sig investerare och kunder som är intresserade av företagens hållbarhetsarbete. CSRD kan också bidra till att öka medvetenheten om viktiga CSR-frågor och på så sätt bidra till en mer hållbar utveckling.

Trots fördelarna med CSRD är det tyvärr fortfarande många företag som inte rapporterar om sin CSR-verksamhet på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Det kan vara svårt att mäta CSR-resultat på ett entydigt sätt, och det kan också finnas en rädsla bland företag att avslöja brister i sin verksamhet.

Vi kan hjälpa till

Vill du ta fram en hållbarhetsrapport som uppfyller CSRD? Hör av dig till oss för att få reda på hur våra automatiska verktyg kan göra det enkelt för dig.

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Climate Impact and Safe Drinking Water with Nazava Water Filters

Together with our amazing members, GoClimate have now offset another 9087 ton CO2eq in the Gold Standard certified project Nazava Water Filters.

According to the World Economic Forum, lack of access to safe drinking water is one of the biggest threats to humanity today. The Nazava project is a social enterprise that sells affordable ceramic water filters to low-income households in Indonesia (where the lack of clean water is a wide-spread problem) enabling access to safe drinking water. The project also leads to reduced CO2 emissions as well as a number of other benefits, both on a global and a local level.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this!

Difficulties for low-income households to get water

The positive impact safe drinking water has on public health is pretty obvious. It prevents disease and even death. The conventional methods for obtaining drinking water involve fetching, transporting and storing water and then boiling it to make it safe enough to drink. The fact that the water often needs to be transported a long way and to then be stored for a long period of time, means that the risk of it being contaminated is large, even if the water was clean at the point of fetching. Boiling is an energy intensive and time-consuming purification method, often involving burning wood or charcoal. In cases where fetching drinking water is not an option, low-income households are left to spend money on buying water, leading to an unsustainable financial situation.

The Nazava Water Filter project saves CO2 

The Nazava Water Filter project leads to a reduction in GHG emissions, as burning wood or fossil fuel for cleaning water is omitted. The project activity has the potential to give an annual average CO2 emission reduction of up to 372,774 t CO2e over a 10 year period. This yearly reduction in energy is comparable to one year’s CO2 emissions from 5 000 Swedish households.

The Filter

The technology used for this specific filter is a ceramic type that produces water of safe drinking water quality. The Nazava Water Filters remove 99.9% of bacteria as tested by WHO – a result honoring the name Nazava, which is arabic for “cleanliness”. The filters are easy to use and sold at an affordable price, making them accessible for the low-income households affected.  The filters can be used thousands of times before they need to be replaced, making this technique a highly sustainable one.

Other important benefits

The positive impact of access to safe drinking water and the great climate impact is probably pretty clear by now, but the Nazava project keeps on giving with it’s many other social and economic benefits!

Not having to carry water a long way reduces the risk of wear and tear. Not having to boil water reduces the indoor air pollution from burning wood, which is a health risk important to avoid.

The project also creates value for the local community in important ways. Buying and using the filters, low-income households saves the cost for buying wood or water, and as well as saves the labour spent on fetching and preparing the water. User surveys show that this is welcomed as a considerable advantage and the project has been well received. 

The selling and distribution is carried out by a network of informal resellers or micro-entrepreneurs, many of which are women, working under the brand name Nazava Water Filters. 

The Nazava project has a positive impact on many of the UN Sustainability Goals – numbers 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13, and 15 (No poverty, Good Health and Wellbeing, Gender equality, Good Health and sanitation, Decent work and economic growth, Climate action and Life on land).

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The Price of Carbon Offsets

The last 6 months have been busy in the voluntary carbon offset market. Demand have surged and prices have increased 3-5 fold. This happened mostly on what is called off the shelf credits – credits that are available for purchase now – but also on credits that can be contracted for future issuance.

The Background

When a certified climate project does climate impact and it can be verified, they receive one climate credit for every tonne CO2e saved from entering the atmosphere.

Certified carbon credits are then sold on a market – the voluntary carbon offset market. It being a market means that the price is determined by the buyers and sellers agreeing on a price that is beneficial for both parties.

The effect of this is that prices can vary over time, so when sellers see an increase in demand they can increase the price and vice versa.

A market has many advantages, it’s easy to scale, it’s efficient and it minimizes waste. But, it also has some disadvantages, the primary one many are feeling now is that it’s hard to predict where the prices are going in order to plan future purchases.

How much of an increase are we seeing now?

As of January 2022, we at GoClimate saw an increase of prices with 3-5 times for the type of high quality Gold Standard-certified projects we support. This has resulted in that we increased our prices to our GoClimate members from 4 EUR per tonne to 15 EUR per tonne. This is quite a dramatic increase which have lead to members scaling down the amount they offset, and business customers needing to redo their budgets.

Bear in mind that we at GoClimate are buying big volumes (50-100k) and spending lots of time sourcing the best and most efficient high quality carbon credits. Prices for smaller volumes are typically higher.

What are the consequences?

Just to be clear, this price increase is brilliant news for the climate. It will mean that:

  1. Companies and individuals are even more incentivized to lower their emissions.
  2. Climate projects get more money for doing climate impact. This leads to even more climate projects being built – and more climate impact!

This price increase happening now is exactly what we at GoClimate has strived for since the start. Finally it starts to get even more profitable to save the climate!

Why are we seeing an increase now?

It’s not possible to know the exact reasons, but clear is that demand for climate credits have increased by a lot. Our hypothisis on why this has happened is:

  1. After COP26 the interest among individuals and companies to do something about climate change increased, and offsetting – even though not the only tool – is something you can do now and that has a fairly high impact (if done in high quality climate projects) for a relatively low effort.
  2. Cryptocurrency has entered the market. KlimaDAO has purchased about 14,7 million credits in just the last few months. And that are even more crypto projects out there.
  3. Net Zero-targets have been set by many companies. SBTi definition of Net Zero mentions offsets a tool to help with climate financing even though it’s not enough to claim Net Zero (which is also GoClimates view).
  4. The general awareness of climate crisis has increased. It’s more clear to businesses and individuals that we all need to act now and that time is running out.

Feel free to add other thoughts in the comments below.

The Future

It’s impossible to predict the future of a market, but I personally don’t see anything which suggests a decrease in demand the coming 5-10 years, rather the opposite. That could be interpeted as a reasons that the price would not go down, but as in all chaotic systems this view might already be priced into the market.

On the supply side of the market, I believe it will take a couple of years for climate projects to initiated and credits being approved and issued. This means that the market will not see lots of new climate projects any time soon.

Depending on what type of offsets you are looking at there are speculation that the prices will continue to rise, maybe as much as 50x more. I feel quite confident that this is not the case of Gold Standard credits though, but an 2x increase during 2022 is of course not possible to rule out.

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Flight Emissions API is expanding

Our Flight Emissions API is expanding. Right now we have more than 200 users for the API that let’s you calculate the carbon emissions from any flight in the world. Thank you everyone for putting the trust in us.

Among the latest users are Figame.com Corporate travel management company, who uses the API to calculate and show the carbon footprint of all the flights in their platform and site.

Thank you again for putting the trust in us and most of all thank you for taking the CO2-emissions into account when displaying flight information.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!