According to the World Bank, around 42% of Ugandans live on less than $2.15 per day. Rural families, especially women, face long hours collecting firewood and cooking over smoky open fires. The lack of access to clean cooking remains very acute in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where around 85 % of the population lacks clean cooking access.
These aren’t just environmental challenges; they’re deep, structural issues of time, health, equity, and access. SSA has the highest exposure to air pollution globally due to widespread use of polluting biomass fuels and technologies, leading to premature deaths.
Other pollution-related diseases include tuberculosis, premature mortality, and low birth weights, which slowly damage health over a long period of time. Most women and young children are the worst affected, exposing these vulnerable groups to a high risk of pollution-related diseases, which account for the second-highest incidence of reported health issues after malaria in Uganda. That’s why clean cookstoves are not solely a climate solution – they are a societal one.
The purpose of the project is to support clean cooking interventions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the burning of non-renewable woody biomass and/or charcoal for cooking in Uganda.
Community projects bring climate action into everyday life, through changes such as more efficient cooking and better access to clean water. Using less fuel helps reduce emissions and pressure on surrounding forests. Depending on the project, it can also mean cleaner air at home and less time spent collecting firewood.
UpEnergy
UpEnergy, headquartered in Uganda, is at the forefront of this change, fighting energy poverty and climate change by delivering affordable, life-improving technologies to low-income communities across Africa.
They are responsible for every part of the project, from the engineering and continuous R&D of the stoves to data analytics, MRV, carbon finance, and registry compliance.
The entire stove manufacturing process is done in-house, including sourcing, moulding, and crafting the clay and metal bases, as well as painting and final assembly. Even the distribution centres and sales teams are fully localised and managed internally. It’s an incredibly impressive, self-sufficient operation, and we were fortunate to tag along during our site visit to see how each sector functions seamlessly together.
Follow the latest milestones and updates from this project.
The Ecologi team visited UpEnergy’s Uganda office in Kampala in May 2025, for routine project assessment and to gain deeper insights into how this project operates on the ground. Our team observed the full lifecycle of the Community Carbon cookstoves right from the initial manufacture. Speaking with the local team, we were able to see just how impactful the scaling of UpEnergy’s Community Carbon programme has been over the last couple of years that the project has been supported by Ecologi. We toured the newly expanded production site, which has been enabled for this local manufacturer through the support of carbon finance from UpEnergy.
Ended 31st December 2024
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Ended 31st December 2023
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Ended 31st December 2022
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A physical local stakeholder consultation meeting was conducted and invitations were sent to stakeholders along with feedback forms and non-technical summaries via email.
Ended 30th November 2021
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Community Carbon, an initiative by UpEnergy, distributes fuel-efficient charcoal cookstoves that reduce household charcoal consumption by 45%–55%, significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions. These stoves, with improved thermal efficiency, contribute directly to mitigating climate change by lowering the need for biomass fuel and reducing deforestation. From January to December 2024, over 587,000 tonnes of CO₂e were avoided.
Through these projects, UpEnergy not only reduces emissions but also funds the Climate Resilience Impact Fund, reinvesting payments from emissions reductions into high-impact programmes. These efforts amplify the project's climate impact by supporting initiatives that empower women and girls, who are critical agents of change in addressing climate challenges.
Forest degradation, sometimes leading to deforestation, is another serious consequence of the unsustainable harvesting of fuelwood. By reducing dependence on charcoal and firewood, the fuel-efficient cookstoves help preserve local ecosystems and forests. Community Carbon projects play a vital role in protecting biodiversity and maintaining healthier ecosystems, which are crucial for long-term environmental stability.
The project contributes to improving the health of users as compared to inefficient traditional stoves by reducing the indoor air pollution.
The project has also enabled economic savings with 89.5% of users reported saving money, experiencing less smoke, and spending less time cooking or collecting wood. This frees up resources for priorities like education and healthcare.
The stoves are 100% locally manufactured, stimulating the local economy and creating jobs across the supply chain, creating around 68 local jobs to date.
Beyond these immediate benefits, the Climate Resilience Impact Fund invests in programmes such as Street Child Uganda and Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa, focusing on empowering women and girls through education. These initiatives recognise the disproportionate impacts of climate change on women while unlocking their potential to drive positive change.
By reducing household fuel costs through fuel-efficient cookstoves, the project enables families to save money and invest in essential needs like education and healthcare. This indicator is measured by the percentage of users reporting money saving due to reduction in purchased fuel consumption in project.
The project significantly reduces indoor air pollution by lowering exposure to harmful smoke, improving respiratory health, and reducing the risk of premature deaths caused by hazardous cooking methods. This SDG is measured by the percentage of users reporting reduction in smoke/PM after shifting to the cleaner cookstoves.
The initiative promotes access to affordable, sustainable, and cleaner cooking technologies for low-income communities, bridging the energy gap in areas without modern energy infrastructure. This SDG is measured by the number of households with operational stoves.
By locally manufacturing the cookstoves, the project stimulates economic activity, creates jobs throughout the supply chain, and fosters entrepreneurship within the community. This is measured by the number of jobs or new entrepreneurship activities created due to the project.
The fuel-efficient stoves reduce the reliance on unsustainable biomass fuels like charcoal and firewood, encouraging responsible use of natural resources and promoting sustainable consumption practices. This is measured by the average % fuel savings reported by users in the project and the reduction in use of non-renewable biomass per household calculated during the estimation of emission reductions.
By cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing deforestation, the project contributes directly to global efforts to combat climate change and promotes sustainable energy practices. This is monitored by the total greenhouse gas emissions reduction per year.
The project helps protect forests and local ecosystems by reducing the demand for wood and charcoal, preserving biodiversity and supporting the long-term health of natural habitats. This is monitored annually by the reduction in use of non-renewable biomass per household calculated during the estimation of emission reductions.
These partners help deliver the project and verify its impact.
UpEnergy builds high-quality decarbonisation projects that improve lives. They do this with support from partners who believe in a just energy transition in which low-income people are prioritised by climate finance.
