SNV Joins the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as a Founding Partner

SNV joins the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as a Founding Partner, and pledges $250,000 over the next two years to combat climate change and improve livelihoods and health of women by promoting the adoption of clean cooking solutions

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Improved cookstoves are a brilliant and simple way to improve people's lives.  As a Founding Partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, represented by Chief Executive, Dirk Elsen, participated in the official launch of the Alliance at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).

The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private initiative that aims to create a sustainable global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.  SNV pledges to contribute $250,000, as well as provide its extensive expertise in renewable energy, to help the Alliance meet its goal of deploying 100 million cookstoves by 2020.  The Alliance will work in cooperation with leading non-profit organizations, foundations, academic institutions, governments and UN agencies to overcome market barriers that currently impede the production, deployment and use of clean cookstoves in the developing world.

Exposure to smoke from traditional cooking methods causes approximately 1.9 million premature deaths annually, with women and young children being the most affected.  Smoke from poorly ventilated cooking contributes to various chronic illnesses and acute health impacts such as pneumonia, lung cancer and bronchitis. This reality is highlighted by the World Health Organization's estimate that smoke from cookstoves is the fourth worst overall health risk factor in developing countries.  Reliance on biomass for cooking increases pressure on local natural resources, thereby contributing to climate change.  It also obliges women and children to spend many hours each week collecting fuel while often facing personal security risks.

To address these problems, the Alliance aims to develop a global clean cookstove industry that constantly innovates to improve design and performance, while lowering the cost of stoves, thereby reaching thousands of the world's poor with cleaner and more efficient household cooking solutions. More efficient cookstoves help reduce the amount of time spent collecting fuel, emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, and create revenues from carbon credits.  Additionally, creating an efficient and sustainable clean cookstove supply chain – design, manufacture, and distribution — can help create jobs at the local level.

Dirk Elsen, SNV Chief Executive, stated, "The environment, renewable energy, and improved welfare of women and children are clearly defined SNV strategic concerns and each of our projects around the world is undertaken with them in consideration. Therefore, we are very excited about joining the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves whose mission and goals fit in perfectly with these SNV strategic priorities. As a Founding Partner in the Alliance, we intend to take an active role in helping define standards, encourage research, and set the vision for the global deployment of improved cookstoves."

Neil Ghosh, Director of SNV-USA added, "Participating in the Alliance's launch at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative is a terrific opportunity for SNV to help promote the Alliance's vision and begin sharing our expertise in bio-energy implementation with our co- Founding Partners and other CGI attendees."

SNV has successfully promoted the implementation of biogas, biofuels and clean cookstove programmes in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is committed to using its expertise in developing market-based solutions and working with the private, public and non-profit sectors to ensure the worldwide dissemination of bio-energy technologies, thereby improving the health of women and children as well as mitigating the impact of climate change. As a part of the Alliance, SNV can leverage this experience to scale up efforts in the clean cookstove sector, which is reaching a "tipping point" thanks to advances in cookstove design and testing, new research on harmful effects of inefficient cookstoves, an increased awareness of the need to address climate change challenges and ability to reach scale via carbon finance.

SNV is one of the Founding Partners of the Alliance; other major Founding Partners include the United Nations Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of State, World Health Organization, U.S. Department of Energy and United Nations Environmental Programme amongst others.  The Alliance is currently seeking additional partners and is looking to secure major funding support for its clean cookstove mission.

About SNV:

SNV is a non-profit international development organisation with headquarters in the Netherlands and staff in 35 countries. For over 40 years, we have worked with national, regional and local governments, entrepreneurs and citizen associations to alleviate poverty. Our advisory services are funded by public and private sources. With over 900 technical advisors and 100 local teams, we provide expertise in agriculture, renewable energy, education, health, water and sanitation, forestry, tourism, governance and private sector development.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI):

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 125 current and former heads of state, 15 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made more than 1,700 commitments valued at $57 billion, which have already improved the lives of 220 million people in more than 170 countries. The CGI community also includes CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make a Commitment to Action, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young leaders from business, government, and civil society. For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.

More information:

An overview of SNV's work can be found at: www.snvworld.org

An overview of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves can be found at: www.cleancookstoves.org

SOURCE SNV Netherlands Development Organisation