A UN climate change project managed to produce and sell merely 2.0 per cent of special environment protection stoves in the country two years since launched.
The project run by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) envisaged to reduce use of fossil fuel which degrade the environment and aggravate climate change and its effects.
The project target was to sell 500,000 bioethanol powered cooking stoves by 2025 but managed to sell some 10,000 stoves to Dar es Salaam households to date.
The UNIDO Deputy Country Representative, Mr Gerald Runyoro, told the 'Daily News' in Dar es Salaam that project between UNIDO and the ministry of energy envisages to promote green energy against uses of firewood and charcoal which exacerbate deforestation.
"This project started in 2020 and is looking to last 2025 where the original plan is to have more than 500,000 bioethanol stoves manufactured and sold to more households," Mr Runyoro said.
The biofuel powered stoves could not sell as expected because of high prices seen little bit higher than average citizen could afford. However, Mr Runyoro said that later the government subsidised the stoves and suppressed prices from around 50,000/- per stove to 38,000/-.
Efforts underway for seeking tax exemption to further make the stoves cheaper to attained the project goal.
"This goes with public campaign to popularize this affordable and efficient source of green cooking energy," Mr Runyoro said.
The project also aims at creating jobs and green energy business initiated UNIDO, in collaboration with the Vice President's Office and the Ministry of Energy to promote green energy against uses of firewood and charcoal to protect trees.
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According to UNIDO, it is estimated that around 372,000 hectares of forests in Tanzania are cleared for firewood and charcoal business where Dar es Salaam city takes the lion's share by consuming most part of it.
Mr Runyoro also clarified that more than 200,000 litres of bioethanol has been sold since 2020, which signifies that the response was quite high in mitigating climate change and creating alternative sources of business.
Sugarcane Molasses acts as an important raw material for processing bioethanol, while UNIDO believes that there are enough raw materials to feed the demand.
"Bioethanol energy is clean cooking energy, cheaper and has no price variation for it does not depend on the global market comparing electricity or LPG gas. It can be easily vended in small sized kiosk and therefore available within two minutes' walk," he said.
On the side of job creation, he said that already Consumer's Choice Limited (CCL) which is commissioned by the government and UNIDO to supply bioethanol cook stoves has employed about 20 people, while as needs grow, more opportunities will be available in the value chain.
