Driving forces for fuelwood choice of households in developing countries: environmental implications for Bangladesh

摘要

Energy planning is an important task for every nation. Understanding the energy preferences of households influences a major part of energy planning and policy. In the preference system, socio-economic driving forces act critically, dictating energy use. Thus, the present study was undertaken to understand the socio-economic driving forces for energy preferences in developing countries, considering the Energy Ladder and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Results show that biomass stillplays a vital role in meeting energy demand in many regions of developing countries, and household income is the most common factor in energy preference. However, the macro-economic condition is the primary driving force. With this understanding, the study argues that Bangladesh is still in the first half of the inverted U-shaped EKC for energy use at household level, and also confirms that the Energy Ladder is true at the second stage of the EKC in Bangladesh. Finally, the study suggests that alternative shorter paths in the EKC for energy use should be developed in Bangladesh. The study will be important for energy policy and planning in Bangladesh.