[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 155 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7472-S7473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 2194. A bill to promote the use of clean cookstoves and fuels to 
save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the 
environment by creating a thriving global market for clean and 
efficient household cooking solutions; to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Clean 
Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act. This bill addresses a serious global 
public health and environmental issue. I am very pleased to be joined 
in this effort by my friend and colleague Senator Durbin.
  Nearly half of the world's people cook over open fires or 
inefficient, polluting, and unsafe cookstoves using agricultural waste, 
coal, dung, wood or other solid fuels. Smoke from these traditional 
cookstoves and open fires is associated with chronic and acute diseases 
that affect women and children disproportionately. The black carbon 
from these traditional cookstoves is also a significant driver of air 
pollution and climate change.
  Alarmingly, the World Health Organization found that in 2012 this 
type of air pollution claimed 4.3 million lives. Millions more are 
sickened from the toxic fumes, and thousands suffer

[[Page S7473]]

burns annually from open fires or unsafe cookstoves. The Global Burden 
of Disease Study of 2010 doubled the mortality estimates for exposure 
to smoke from cookstoves, referred to as ``household air pollution,'' 
from 2 million to 4 million deaths annually. That is more than the 
deaths from malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS combined. This same 
study ranks household air pollution as the fourth worst overall health 
risk factor in the world and is the second worst health risk factor in 
the world for women and girls.
  Traditional cookstoves also create serious environmental problems. 
Recent studies show that the emissions of black carbon or common soot 
from these cookstoves significantly contribute to regional air 
pollution and climate change. In fact, black carbon emissions from 
residential cookstoves in developing countries are responsible for as 
much as 25 percent of black carbon emissions. Moreover, each family can 
require up to two tons of cooking fuel, and where the demand for fuel 
outstrips the natural regrowth of resources, local environmental 
degradation and loss of biodiversity can result.
  The collection of this fuel is also a burden that is shouldered 
disproportionately by women and children. In some areas, women and 
girls risk rape and other violence during the up to 20 hours per week 
they spend away from their families gathering fuel. This often means 
these women and girls have far less time to pursue an education, to 
generate income or to participate in other community activities, and 
this marginalizes their role in society. A new report by McKinsey 
Global Institute estimates that the world economy could increase by 
between $12 trillion and $28 trillion over 10 years if the 
participation of women was to equal that of men.
  Replacing these cookstoves with modern alternatives would help 
reverse these alarming health, environmental, and economic trends, and 
it would be relatively inexpensive. In fact, there are stoves that are 
coming on the market that cost as little as $20 that are 50 percent 
more efficient than the traditional cooking methods. It could also be 
done quickly. It is what scientists call the low-hanging fruit of 
environmental and health fixes.
  In 2010, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves was formed to help 
support the adoption of clean cookstoves in 100 million households in 
the developing world by the year 2020. Recognizing the serious health 
and environmental issues posed by traditional cookstoves, the Alliance 
aims to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and combat 
pollution by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient 
household cooking stoves. Alliance partners are working together to 
help overcome the market barriers that currently impede the production, 
development, and distribution of clean cookstoves in developing 
countries.
  During the first 5 years of the Alliance, the U.S. Government played 
a key role in supporting this important endeavor, including through 
financial assistance that surpassed the original funding commitments. 
Led by the Department of State, 11 Federal agencies have invested more 
than $114 million in clean cookstoves and fuel initiatives to date. For 
the next 5 years of the Alliance, our government has announced 
anticipated commitments of another $175 million.
  To date, our government has focused its efforts on applied research 
and development, diplomatic engagement to encourage a market for clean 
cookstoves and to improve access to them, international development 
projects to support clean cookstove businesses engaging women 
entrepreneurs, and supporting the adoption of clean and efficient 
cooking solutions by providing some financial assistance.
  The legislation Senator Durbin and I are introducing today 
strengthens these important commitments by requiring the Secretary of 
State--in consultation with the relevant Federal agencies and in 
coordination with international NGOs and private and other government 
entities--to advance the goals and work of the Alliance. In addition, 
the bill would formally authorize the funding commitments already made 
by our government for the next 5 years, through the year 2020, to 
ensure that these important pledges toward preventing unnecessary 
illness and reducing pollution around the globe are met.
  By supporting the work of the Alliance and the commitment of the U.S. 
Government to replace traditional cookstoves with modern versions that 
emit far less soot, this bill aims to benefit directly some of the 
world's poorest people and to reduce the harmful pollution that affects 
all of us. It offers a way for us to address the second largest 
contributor to climate change in a way that is inexpensive, not 
burdensome to the people of our country, and that will benefit poor 
people living in developing nations.
  There is lots of disagreement on many proposals that have been 
advanced to address climate change, but this is one that should unite 
all of us. It will help to improve the health of women and children, in 
particular, who bear the burden of working over these dirty cookstoves 
in developing countries, and it will reduce carbon soot in our 
atmosphere--the second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. 
It will do so without requiring those of us in our country to change 
our ways.
  I urge my colleagues to join Senator Durbin and me in supporting the 
Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act.

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