by Monkgogi Bonolo Otlhogile
Burkina Faso is a landlocked, energy-dependent country, which relies heavily on firewood as its primary household fuel. In an effort to mitigate deforestation, air pollution, and lung-related illnesses caused by wood burning, the Burkinabe government has attempted many energy interventions in the hopes of transitioning the country to cleaner fuels such as LPG and kerosene. Ouedraogo (2013) used an AIDS model to explain why wood-energy pricing and substitutions policies have failed in Burkina Faso. The author calculated fuel-related income, own- and cross-price elasticities for households in Ouagadougou to determine household’s dependency on wood energy in Burkina Faso. Ouedraogo found that there was a relative inelasticity for wood-energy demand compared to the fuel price and each household’s income. This confirmed that the growing population of Ouagadougou is dependent on wood-energy. In addition, the cross-price elasticities between wood-energy and other fuels showed that there was very little substitutability between wood-energy and other fuels. These two factors have led to the failure of wood-energy pricing policies in urban Ouagadougou. However, the author argues that the use of these elasticities could allow for the Burkinabe government to identify the most cost-effective policy. Ouedraogo identifies LPG as a possible substitute for wood-energy as it exhibits the greatest cross-price elasticity and urges the government to supplement wood-energy pricing policies with the promotion of LPG cooking equipment, as it is the greatest barrier to energy transition in Burkina Faso. Continue reading