Quantifying the effects of Spatial Determinants on Cooking Fuel Choices in India

Vidhulekha Tiwari; Ram Avtar; Santanu Bandyopadhyay; Arnab Jana

Authors

Vidhulekha Tiwari Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Ram Avtar Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3653-5771
Santanu Bandyopadhyay Department of Energy Science and Engineering, at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0892-4799
Arnab Jana Centre for Urban Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8210-1566

Keywords:

Cooking Energy, Household Energy, Spatial Regression Analysis, Cooking Fuel Choice, Geospatial Analysis, Regional Planning

Published

2024-07-14

Issue

Vol. 36 (2024): GAME CHANGER? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions - book of abstracts

Section

TRACK 07: ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Household energy consumption constitutes approximately 30%, of India's overall energy consumption, with cooking alone accounting for about 40% of this household energy usage. According to the recent consumer survey of India, approximately 30% of the population is still using polluting fuels in India, and several policies like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana have been launched to improve the penetration of LPG as the primary cooking fuel in households. While studies have examined the influence of socio-economic factors on household fuel choices, research focusing on spatial socio-economic dynamics remains limited. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating the role of regional economies in shaping household cooking fuel preferences, thus addressing concerns related to sustainability and indoor air pollution. This study hypothesises that regional economies might play a significant role in influencing the cooking fuel choice of households. Given the fact that the subsidies and policies governing the cost and distribution of fuel are implemented on national or regional levels, coupled with existing regional disparities in India, studying the influence of spatial variables is imperative. Utilizing Spatial Regression Analysis, specifically the Spatial Lag Model, this research examines the impact of various regional variables on household fuel choices. Findings indicate that GDP per Capita, Built-up Area per 100 sqm, Percentage of main workers in the district and Percentage of households with land ownership exceeding 1 Ha significantly influence the prevalence of LPG usage as the primary cooking fuel in Indian households. For instance, an increase of INR 20,000 in GDP per capita of a district causes a 1% rise in LPG adoption among households in that district. Furthermore, the spatial lag coefficient highlights the spillover effect, indicating that a 1% increase in LPG usage among all the neighbouring districts leads to a 0.42% rise in LPG adoption among the households of the target district. This study underscores the implications of improved technology or new policies on energy usage patterns, suggesting a need for nuanced policy measures tailored to regional disparities. The insights generated from this analysis offer valuable guidance for policymakers and regional planners in formulating targeted interventions to address regional inequalities and promote sustainable development. Additionally, this spatial perspective enables an understanding of resource allocation for efficient regional development. Future research could enhance these findings by incorporating more detailed datasets and refining the Spatial Weights Matrix to account for factors such as connectivity and policy influences.

Author Biographies

Ram Avtar, Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan

Professor Ram avtar is working as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Japan and Director of the Global Land Programme (GLP) Japan Nodal Office. He actively contributes to study land systems and co-design solutions for global sustainability as a part of GLP programme. He has worked at United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) as a Research Fellow for four years (2012-2016). He holds a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India and a doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Tokyo, Japan. He has developed methods for mapping natural resources using multi-sensor remote sensing techniques and scenario analysis for sustainable management of these resources. Currently, he is working on the synergistic use of remote sensing and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) techniques to monitor the environment more precisely to solve environmental issues from a global to local scale. He is interested in conducting research in the field of applications of Geospatial techniques and machine learning algorithms to monitor terrestrial ecosystems and climate change interface. His research aims towards transdisciplinary research methods to promote research on vulnerability, resilience and sustainability. He has worked as a Lead Author in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) expert group on Deliverable 3(c). He is a recipient of the prestigious Green Talents Award by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany. He has led research projects as a Principal Investigator (PI) as well as a team member, such as the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN-GCR), Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI), Belmont Forum, Hirose grant, Kurata grant, Kajima grant etc.
Santanu Bandyopadhyay, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Santanu Bandyopadhyay is currently Praj Industries Chair Professor, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). He obtained his B.Tech. (Hons.) in Energy Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1992, and M.Tech. and Ph.D. in Energy Systems Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1995 and 1999, respectively. His research interest includes Process integration, Pinch Analysis, Industrial energy conservation, Modelling and simulation of energy systems, Design and optimization of renewable energy systems, etc. Since 1994, Prof. Bandyopadhyay has been associated with and contributed towards various developmental, industrial, and research activities involving different structured approaches to process synthesis, energy integration and conservation as well as renewable energy systems design. Prior to joining IIT Bombay, he worked for M/s Engineers India Limited, New Delhi. He was one of the section editors for the Elsevier project, Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies. He is currently one of the Editors-in-Chief for Process Integration and Optimization for Sustainability (Springer Nature) as well as Associate Editor for Journal of Cleaner Production (Elsevier), Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy (Springer Nature), and South African Journal of Chemical Engineering (Elsevier). He is a fellow of the Indian National Association of Engineering (INAE).
Arnab Jana, Centre for Urban Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Arnab Jana is Associate Professor at the Centre for Urban Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay. He works in the area of urban infrastructure policy and planning, primarily focusing on public health policy, application of ICT in urban and regional planning, sustainability & transportation issues. He holds a PhD in Urban Engineering from The University of Tokyo, Japan. He was awarded the prestigious MEXT Scholarship by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Govt. of Japan. He is also an alumnus of Asian Program of lncubation of Environmental Leadership (APIEL), the University of Tokyo. Dr Jana holds a Master's degree in City Planning from IIT Kharagpur, where he was awarded the Institute Silver Medal. He has also worked in consulting firms and has professional and academic experience of working in several countries.

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