Cooking fuel types and the health effects: A field study in China

Recognizing the health effect induced by using solid fuels is a stimulus for speeding up the clean energy transition in rural China. This paper estimates the impact of cooking fuel choice on residents' health based on a Multinomial Logistic regression model. We conducted a field survey and collected data from ten villages in Northern China. The results indicate that fuel stacking is prevalent in the surveyed rural region, but a transition to cleaner fuels is underway. We find that rural residents’ health status is significantly influenced by cooking fuel types. Respondents who used clean cooking fuels chronically have a 0.138 higher probability of positive evaluation and a 0.128 lower probability of negative evaluation of their health status, compared to those who use solid cooking fuel. Existing energy transition policies focus on outdoor air pollution reduction and associated public health benefits; while our results suggest that transition to clean energy in rural China can also bring significant indoor air pollution reduction and family health benefits.