New Delhi, Dec 8 : The Indian government has supported and promoted solar cooking, and with continuous encouragement and an enabling environment, supportive policy can help scale up solar cooking to its full potential. Solar cooking, on a large scale, is done at religious sites that run community kitchens.

These were the candid observations of Alan Bigelow, Program and Science Director of the US-based non-profit Solar Cookers International (SCI), on the sidelines of the just concluded UN Climate Change Conference -- known as COP29 -- in Azerbaijan's Baku, where nearly 200 nations agreed to a new collective quantified goal on climate finance.

Dr Janak Palta McGilligan is an SCI Global Advisor, Director of the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development and co-founder of Jaivik Setu, the National Coordinator for the Solar Food Processing Network India.

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, she has trained more than 40,000 students in sustainable development.

Bigelow told IANS in an interview that it's important to recognise and acknowledge that solar cooking is an integrative solution, meaning that it is intended to be added to existing cooking techniques.

SCI suggests that through best practices such as training led by local women solar cooking champions, Indian families can learn to excel at solar cooking and use free, abundant, and accessible solar energy in part of the country's transition to clean cooking.

SCI's 2024 Economic Impact Summaries indicate 25.5 per cent of the population of India relies on polluting fuels for cooking.

Bigelow lives in New York and does solar cooking as much as possible on sunny days, year-round. He believes by 'walking the talk' others that are hearing about solar cooking for the first time appreciate SCI is leading by example and demonstrating that everyone, no matter what country they live in, can benefit by solar cooking.

Depending on the type of solar cooker, a lifespan can vary between one and 15 years.

Can the steep price of a solar cooker, much higher than standard induction stoves commonly used in rural households, be a bottleneck to adapt it?

At this, Bigelow believes, 'While the cost for a solar cooker might exceed that of a standard induction stovetop, for example, one should keep in mind that the cost for cooking has two parts, the cost for the cooking device and the cost for fuel.'

SCI Adoption and Impact data from a collaborative initiative at a Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya suggest that a solar cook can pay for the device itself within two years based on fuel savings alone.

Sharing his experiences while travelling in India, he found that Indian people have an enormous respect for nature and understand the urgency for implementing climate solutions.

'I was even told that in India, it does not make sense to have an 'Earth Day' because, in Indian culture, every day is a day to celebrate and revere nature. Furthermore, Indian people, in general, have an appreciation for finance and have developed expertise at bargaining and saving money," he said.

So, it makes sense that Indian people should respond favourably to technology such as solar cooking, which has both environmental and financial benefits, in addition to offering benefits for health and gender empowerment.

'To help boost the market approach for solar cookers, SCI encourages policies and resources that help overcome challenges associated with solar cooking by improving awareness, availability, affordability, and acceptability,' he added.

SCI includes water pasteurisation aspects along with its promotion of solar cooking. It is also aware that solar cookers have gained traction for heating water in high-altitude regions such as in the Himalayas and along trekking routes where water quality might be questionable.

Does he think that India has a substantial opportunity for using solar thermal energy?

'Solar energy is free, abundant, and easily accessible across India, so yes, absolutely, I think India has a substantial opportunity for using solar thermal energy for many applications, including cooking.'

He believes the government policy that creates an enabling environment for clean cooking can make a positive impact towards accelerating implementation within the country.

SCI annually monitors and issues a report on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that are submitted by party members (countries) of the United Nations.

When the text in a country's NDC is favourable to solar cooking, it can help unlock opportunities for funding solar cooking initiatives within the country, including developing the capacity for manufacturing solar cookers using materials that are already available in the country.

Implementing solar cooking can have an added benefit in regions where communities are cooking with polluting fuels that emit greenhouse gases and black carbon (soot).

SCI encourages India and all countries that can benefit from solar cooking -- to promote solar cooking as an integrated solution that compliments other cooking solutions.

Consumers deserve to know what their options are for renewable-based clean cooking solutions so they can decide which solutions work best for them.

If consumers choose solar cookers as part of their array of cooking solutions, the more they solar cook, the less they use of fossil fuel and/or polluting fuels and the more money they save.

The solar cooking sector hypothesises that solar thermal cooking can curb deforestation.

As per SCI Adoption and Impact survey, the use of firewood and charcoal is reduced after solar cookers are introduced and used at the household level.

While this could imply a reduction in ecosystem degradation, more complex studies would be required to measure the direct correlation between solar cooker use and ecosystem recovery.

Can solar cooking be done in religious places like the Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar which runs the world's largest community kitchen?

Bigelow, who can speak Hindi, said that in India, there are numerous examples of institutional solar cooker installations functional at religious facilities.

Brahma Kumaris faith-based group is a leader in institutional solar cooking, with large-scale installations, for example, at their headquarters at Mount Abu in Rajasthan and at their Om Shanti Retreat Centre in Gurugram in Haryana.

The Art of Living Ashram in Bangalore also has a system where Bigelow enjoyed eating a solar-cooked meal once in 2011.

The largest solar steam cooking system is at Shirdi Temple.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

/IANS