Transforming the Cookstoves Market through Standards & Labels in Guatemala

The government of Guatemala, the private sector, and local and international NGOs, including the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, seek to transition Guatemalan households to cleaner and more efficient stoves and fuels to reduce the use of firewood, improve health and reduce environmental impacts. Several efforts are already underway to support this transition, with the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) on the “Efficient Use of Fuel and Alternative Fuels in Indigenous and Rural Communities” three- year project playing a leading role in forging the path to a more sustainable and efficient cookstove market. This transition can be enabled through the adoption of best practice standards and labeling (S&L) policies and programs.

The status of the cookstoves market and sociopolitical framework in Guatemala indicates that specific components of S&L policies and programs can support the goal of substantially increasing consumer uptake of cleaner and more efficient cookstoves (also referred to as improved cookstoves, or ICS).

A strategy was developed integrating these characteristics and the key findings, as well as specific recommendations for its implementation over the short-, mid-, and long-term