Project Grant 84065501

DESCRIPTION:THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT GOAL 4 'ENSURE CLEAN AND HEALTHY AIR FOR ALL COMMUNITIES'; OBJECTIVE 4.2: 'REDUCE EXPOSURE TO RADIATION AND IMPROVE INDOOR AIR' OF EPA'S STRATEGIC PLAN BY CONDUCTING WORKSHOPS AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES, RESEARCH TO IMPROVE STOVE PERFORMANCE, AND DISSEMINATION OF KEY FINDINGS AND APPROACHES. CCA WILL ACCELERATE ACCESS TO CLEAN COOKING THROUGH STANDARDSBASED NATIONAL POLICIES AND COUNTRY-LEVEL CLIMATE ACTION, RESULTING IN INCREASED AWARENESS, CAPACITY AND ACTION TO INCREASE THE SUSTAINED USE OF CLEAN FUELS AND TECHNOLOGIES, AND EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS IN LMICS FROM HOUSEHOLD ENERGY USE. THROUGH THE PROPOSED ACTIVITIES, CCA INTENDS TO ADVANCE THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE; INCREASE THE EXCHANGE OF TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC ADVANCES; AND ACHIEVE RESULTS THAT RAPIDLY INCREASE THE USE OF CLEAN, RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, EFFICIENT, AND SAFE HOME COOKING AND HEATING PRACTICES.ACTIVITIES:CCA INTENDS TO ADVANCE THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE; INCREASE THE EXCHANGE OF TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC ADVANCES; AND ACHIEVE RESULTS THAT RAPIDLY INCREASE THE USE OF CLEAN, RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, EFFICIENT, AND SAFE HOME COOKING AND HEATING PRACTICES. STANDARDS: UNDER THE PROJECT PROPOSED HERE, CCA WILL UNDERTAKE A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO STANDARDS AND TESTING: (1) SUPPORT POLICYMAKERS AND OTHER RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO IMPLEMENT STANDARDS TO ACHIEVE POLICY GOALS, INCLUDING HOW TO ADOPT/ADAPT ISO STANDARDS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL; (2) STRENGTHEN CAPACITY OF REGIONAL TESTING AND KNOWLEDGE CENTERS (RTKCS) USING THE PUBLISHED ISO CLEAN COOKING STANDARDS TESTING PROTOCOLS AND REPORTING FRAMEWORKS, AS WELL AS THE DEMAND FOR THESE SERVICES; AND (3) STRENGTHEN THE ISO STANDARDS THEMSELVES. STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION: CCA PROPOSES TO HOLD TWO IN-PERSON REGIONAL STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOPS WITH THE THIRD COHORT IN DAKAR, SENEGAL, AND THE FOURTH COHORT IN LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, TO HELP GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDERS ADAPT/ADOPT THE ISO CCA/C-CHEER PROJECT NARRATIVE 3 STANDARDS INTO NATIONAL POLICY AND IMPLEMENT THEM. THESE TWO WORKSHOPS WILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF BUILDING ON A STRONG FOUNDATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND PLANNING EXECUTED DURING THE VIRTUAL CONVENINGS. CCA FURTHER PROPOSES TO UNDERTAKE AN ASSESSMENT OF WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE ADOPTED THE ISO STANDARDS, ALONG WITH THE DETAILS OF ANY ADAPTATIONS TO THEM, AND INFORMATION ON THEIR USE OF REPORTING TIERS. TO DATE, THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO ACCESS. CCA PROPOSES TO WORK WITH WHO TO INCLUDE THIS INFORMATION IN THE WHO ENERGY POLICY REPOSITORY, RATHER THAN MAINTAINING IT IN A SEPARATE DATABASE. ONE IMPORTANT POSSIBLE ASPECT OF STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION IS LABELING. WITH SEPARATE FUNDING, CCA IS CURRENTLY UNDERTAKING RESEARCH IN KENYA TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KENYA'S PROPOSED COOKSTOVE LABELING SCHEME TO INFLUENCE CUSTOMER PURCHASING. CCA WILL APPLY THE OUTCOMES OF THIS RESEARCH, WHICH WILL BE COMPLETED IN MID-2023, TO IDENTIFY WHERE LABELING PROGRAMS COULD HELP INCREASE DEMAND FOR HIGH-QUALITY, CLEANER, AND MORE EFFICIENT COOKING TECHNOLOGIES AND FUELS, AND TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON LABELING IN 2-3 COUNTRIES. COUNTRIES TO BE EVALUATED FOR THIS SUPPORT WILL INCLUDE THOSE RECEIVING STANDARDS IMPLEMENTATION DEEP-DIVE SUPPORT, THOSE IDENTIFIED BY CCA'S USER INSIGHTS LAB (WHICH WILL ALSO PROVIDE INSIGHTS ON SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PRACTICES TO PROMOTE ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY AND TRACKING SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS), AND COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING IN CCA'S DELIVERY UNIT NETWORK. TESTING: TO COMPLEMENT THIS VIRTUAL ROUND ROBIN PROGRAM, CCA PROPOSES TO HOLD A ROUND ROBIN FOLLOW-UP IN-PERSON WORKSHOP FOR ALL PARTICIPATING RTKCS AT THE MOST ADVANCED LAB IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: CSIR-IIR IN GHANA. THERE ARE MANY MORE RTKCS WHO WOULD BENEFIT FROM THIS TYPE OF CAPACITY BUILDING, INCLUDING IN ASIA, WHICH WAS NOT REPRESENTED IN THE FIRST SERIES. GIVEN THE SUCCESS OF THE FIRST SERIES, CCA P