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The Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are among the poorest in the Americas. While the fraction of population dependent on solid fuels has declined in these nations over the last 25 years, the number of people using them has risen. Here, we first assess current patterns of cooking energy use in these nations. We then apply a discrete model of household cooking choices and demand to simulate future pathways of clean cooking uptake and the outlook for achieving target 7.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which aims to ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030. We find that by 2030, ensuing income growth is likely to enable 90% of urban populations in these nations to switch to using modern cooking energy services. However, without supporting policies, between 40% to 50% of rural Guatemalans and Hondurans, while over two-thirds of rural Nicaraguans, are likely to find clean fuels or stoves unaffordable in 2030. A targeted subsidy on modern fuels, like liquid petroleum gas (LPG), is the most effective policy mechanism we studied that could provide such support. A 50% subsidy policy on LPG targeted to the rural and urban poor population could, by 2030, make cooking with LPG affordable to an additional 7.3 million people in these countries. We estimate that such a policy would cost about $250 million per year and would have negligible greenhouse gas emissions impacts. Such a policy could also have significant health benefits, preventing about 8,890 premature deaths annually from reduced exposure to cooking-related household pollution in 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatially explicit data on electricity access and use are essential for effective policy-making and infrastructure planning in low-income, data-scarce regions. We present and validate a 1-km resolution electricity access dataset covering sub-Saharan Africa built on gridded nighttime light, population, and land cover data. Using light radiance probability distributions, we define electricity consumption tiers for urban and rural areas and estimate the by-tier split of consumers living in electrified areas. The approach provides new insight into the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of electricity access, and a measure of its quality beyond binary access. We find our estimates to be broadly consistent with recently published province- and national-level statistics. Moreover, we demonstrate consistency between the estimated electricity access quality indicators and survey-based consumption levels defined in accordance with the World Bank Multi-Tier Framework. The dataset is readily reproduced and updated using an open-access scientific computing framework. The data and approach can be applied for improving the assessment of least-cost electrification options, and examining links between electricity access and other sustainable development objectives. Design Type(s) modeling and simulation objective • observational design • data integration objective Measurement Type(s) Electricity Technology Type(s) digital curation Factor Type(s) temporal_interval • geographic location Sample Characteristic(s) Sub-Saharan Africa • anthropogenic habitat Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With growing health risks from rising temperatures in the Global South, the lack of essential indoor cooling is increasingly seen as a dimension of energy poverty and human well-being. Air conditioning (AC) is expected to increase significantly with rising incomes, but it is likely that many who need AC will not have it. We estimate the current location and extent of populations potentially exposed to heat stress in the Global South. We apply a variable degree days (VDD) method on a global grid to estimate the energy demand required to meet these cooling needs, accounting for spatially explicit climate, housing types, access to electricity and AC ownership. Our results show large gaps in access to essential space cooling, especially in India, South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1.8 to 4.1 billion, depending on the required indoor temperatures and days of exposure, may need AC to avoid heat related stresses under current climate and socio-economic conditions. This number far exceeds the energy poverty gap indicated by the Sustainable Development Goal for electricity access (SDG7). Covering this cooling gap would entail a median energy demand growth of 14% of current global residential electricity consumption, primarily for AC. Solutions beyond improved AC efficiency, such as passive building and city design, innovative cooling technologies, and parsimonious use of AC will be needed to ensure essential cooling for all with minimized environmental damage. Meeting the essential cooling gap, as estimated by this study, can have important interactions with achieving several of the SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]