Wood fuel, crucial for household energy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), faces escalating demand and resource challenges. The increasing urbanization driven by rapid population growth, coupled with limited access to electricity and non-renewable energy sources, contributes to the rising demand for wood fuel. Moreover, global concerns about energy independence and a policy shift towards renewable energy further emphasize wood fuel's relevance as a domestic energy source in SSA. This paper presents a comprehensive review of both country-level and regional studies, investigating the drivers of wood fuel and charcoal demand, with a particular focus on the urban preference for charcoal and the obstacles preventing the establishment of well-functioning charcoal markets. It sheds light on the shifting perspectives regarding wood fuel supply shortages, emphasizing the importance of sustainability. By synthesizing insights from country-specific and regional research, this study contributes to a thorough overview of the wood fuel landscape in SSA, offering insights into meeting the region's energy needs while preserving the environment. Solutions like agroforestry, decentralized management, and regulation are discussed to ensure a reliable wood fuel supply, fostering a balance between energy requirements and forest conservation.

Woodfuel is extremely important for energy security in Africa. About eighty percent of both rural and urban populations in the 49 countries that comprise South-Saharan (SSA) Africa rely on wood-based biomass to satisfy their energy needs, especially for cooking. Under the Paris Agreement for Climate Change, countries have submitted their 'Intended Nationally Determined Contributions' (INDCs) to the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), to define their national ambitions. After Paris, these have now become legally binding NDCs. Therefore, the role that woodfuel plays in the NDCs of SSA countries needs to be assessed. We reviewed and assessed INDC/NDCs of a selection of SSA countries to identify how they focus on wood fuel. This paper provides a first analysis of the role that woodfuels play in the NDCs. Only five of the 22 countries analyzed do not mention wood fuels at all. While all of those that do mention roadmaps, only just over half of them offer budgetary considerations, and about half of them identify institutional responsibilities for the woodfuel sector. In many NDCs, woodfuel is seen as a backwater technology, and not the renewable energy source it could be come if sustainably harvested and managed. We find that, overall, next iterations of the NDCs in SSA countries need to become more specific regarding the role of woodfuels in national climate and development policies.

Nearly half the world's population and about 81 percent of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) households rely on wood-based biomass energy (fuel wood and charcoal) for cooking. This degree of reliance is far greater than in any other region. While the use of biomass fuels in China, India and much of the developing world has peaked or will do so in the near future, SSA's consumption will either remain at very high levels or even grow over the next few decades. Population growth, coupled with strong urbanization dynamics and relative price changes of alternative fuels, offset the important achievements made over the past decade by significant investments in energy access, rural and urban electrification, off-grid energy developments, and the promotion of alternative energy sources. With increasing economic development, the demand for energy is increasing as well and consumers depend on a broader portfolio of energy sources to satisfy growing energy needs. While electricity and other energy sources are needed to satisfy additional energy needs emerging with economic development, a vast majority of Sub-Saharan African consumers continue to use wood based biomass energy for cooking. Especially electricity is not regarded a suitable alternative for cooking given equipment and use costs. Biomass burning in cook stoves also emits black carbon (BC) as part of visible smoke, which is particulate matter that results from incomplete combustion. Climate science now views BC as the second or third largest warming agent after carbon dioxide, alongside methane. In the case of biomass cooking, the warming effects of BC and the cooling effects of organic carbon that is also emitted during the burning appear to be closely balanced. Given the present uncertainty about the net impact, additional research is currently underway. Black carbon has also an impact at the regional level: it accelerates melting of ice and snow, and contributes to regional pollution which can alter climatic conditions and precipitation patterns over a wide area. This paper advocates that any policy reform should entail a combination of clear rules, transparent enforcement, strong incentives and awareness-creation/capacity development. Key stakeholders and the general public need guidance by way of information campaigns, training, and demonstration projects to ensure that awareness-deficits or false perceptions do not curtail policy implementation. The bureaucratic and administrative barriers e.g. overcomplicated forest management planning requirements, complex fiscal systems and land tenure procedures may inhibit development and thus warrant critical reflection. The regulatory framework needs to integrate externalities in order to promote adequate pricing of charcoal, and thus enhance regional economies.

This book provides information on the distribution of the available energy resources throughout the continent and how it is linked to the development of individual states. Africa is considered one of the poorest continents in the world, mainly because its development has historically depended on imported resources including technical expertise. This view and its associated resource management strategy are based on the perception that Africa lacks sufficient energy resources to drive its development agenda. Analyses of individual countries’ energy potentials, exploitation levels and distribution mechanisms are provided with a view to identifying additional factors that are stifling Africa’s economic development. One critical factor is the relationship between available energy resources and the energy mixes chosen by different states, and how these can be exploited to produce the right blend of energy for various applications such as industrial, transport, domestic, and recreational uses. The authors provide an in-depth analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources in terms of their environmental, industrialization and distribution costs, impacts, and the development options best suited for improving Africa’s economic situation. This analysis is based on the assertion that Africa is indeed blessed with abundant energy resources, which have not been effectively exploited. The book not only reviews Africa’s energy situation in general, but also reveals that, while there are certainly circumstances peculiar to individual countries, the similarities, especially within Sub-Saharan African countries, outweigh the differences. That being said, the challenges and available opportunities in each country should be viewed with due consideration given to the prevailing national resource management environment. Many initiatives in Africa fail because of the many loopholes in the management structures, which allow corruption, theft, and mere selfishness to thrive. In addition to the negative impacts of these factors on implementation activities, there is also a general lack of institutional support for initiatives that could otherwise be very progressive. Thus, taken together, these retrogressive practices stifle African energy development plans. The book offers a valuable guide for developers, investors, researchers and environmentalist, providing in-depth insights on the relationship between available energy resources and development trends in Africa. "By harnessing the wind and sun, your vast geothermal energy and rivers for hydropower, you can turn this climate threat into an economic opportunity." US President Obama's address to the African Union (2015)

Sub-Saharan Africa is facing increasing pressures on its natural environments, economics, and societies. Financial burdens, difficulties with economic reform, problems of social transformation and of rapidly growing cities, combined with loss of productive topsoil, deforestation, and scarce or poor-quality fresh water, are among the major contributors. While global climatic change and other physical phenomena may play a part, the present environment is largely a result of the interactions between people, natural resources, and cultural development. This book focuses on sustainable environmental and resource management development in the Sub-Saharan Africa region in the medium-term future. The first part analyses the driving force of environmental change in the region, including persistent poverty, population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and energy production and consumption. The second part takes up issues central to sustainability, including agriculture, on which the majority of people still depend for their livelihood. Among the conclusions, the authors stress the need for policies aimed at poverty eradication and equitable economic development to counter unsustainable use of natural resources and to reduce vulnerability to environmental deterioration, economic decline, and hazards. Much greater cooperation between the North and South--and a more open system or trade in particular--are recommended for better resource management. And finally, a strengthening of environmental institutions and environmental education at all levels is advised.