EUEI Partnership Dialogue Facility (PDF)

Summary

Biomass energy accounts for about 80% of the total energy consumed by households and is provided by 30.6 million hectares of forests. The widespread and inefficient use of traditional biomass (firewood, charcoal) has been proven to cause overexploitation of forest stocks in certain zones, particularly around high concentration urban areas such as Maputo and Beira, environmental degradation, problems to end-users (indoor air pollution) and high CO2 emissions.

In order to improve this situation, the Government of Mozambique has decided to design and implement a national biomass energy strategy (BEST), with a particular focus on the charcoal supply chain and addressing both the supply and the demand side

• to ensure a more sustainable supply of biomass energy
• to promote access to modern cooking fuels as well as to efficient and modern biomass combustion technologies, and
• to contribute to a lower carbon energy supply scenario.

EUEI PDF has assisted the Ministry of Energy in developing such a strategy, the process was led by the Ministry of Energy, the National Directorate for New and Renewable Energy (DNRE). The Biomass Energy Strategy includes

• regulatory and fiscal interventions and institutional changes;
• formalisation and monitoring of the charcoal supply chain;
• capacity building;
• promotion of improved cookstoves and modern biomass-based and non-renewable fuels.