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Incentivizing Elimination of Biomass Cooking Fuels with a Reversible Commitment and a Spare LPG Cylinder
By Stephen Harrell1, Ajay Pillarisetti2, Sudipto Roy3
1University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Environmental Science & Technology
|November 13, 2020
Summary
A study in rural Maharashtra found that requiring households to disable indoor biomass stoves (chulhas) before offering a spare liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder led to a 90% reduction in chulha use, significantly improving air quality.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Public Health Interventions
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Household air pollution from biomass fuels causes significant mortality in India.
- Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) offers a cleaner alternative, yet many Indian households use both biomass stoves (chulhas) and LPG.
- Understanding behavioral barriers to clean fuel adoption is crucial for reducing indoor air pollution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the effectiveness of a sales offer for a spare LPG cylinder conditioned on a temporary commitment to disable indoor chulhas.
- To evaluate the impact of this commitment strategy on biomass fuel use and LPG adoption in rural Maharashtra, India.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial with 186 households in rural Maharashtra.
- Intervention group received a sales offer for a spare LPG cylinder conditional on disabling indoor chulhas.
- Control group received a sales offer without the chulha disabling commitment.
- Measured indoor chulha usage and spare cylinder purchase rates.
Main Results:
- Over 98% of households accepted the commitment to disable chulhas.
- Indoor chulha use decreased by 90% in the intervention group, versus 23% in the control group.
- 80% of households in both groups purchased the spare LPG cylinder.
Conclusions:
- Conditioning clean fuel offers on reversible commitments can be highly effective in reducing biomass fuel use.
- This strategy significantly enhances the adoption of cleaner cooking fuels like LPG, with high uptake of supplementary cylinders.
- Behavioral interventions show promise for mitigating household air pollution and associated health risks.
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