Exploring socio-economic determinants of energy choices for cooking: the case of eastern Indonesian households

Globally, nearly 1.3 billion people have no access to electricity, and 3.0 billion people rely on ‘dirty’ fuel such as firewood and biomass for cooking and heating. In Indonesia, firewood is still the fuel of choice when cooking due to its low cost and abundant availability in rural areas. However, the adverse consequences of the indoor air pollution produced through cooking are neglected. Furthermore, the use of firewood for household energy is also associated with slash and burn practices, which drive deforestation and environmental degradation. The use of clean energy, therefore, is imperative for improving people's health and minimizing their environmental footprint. Having this insight, this study aims to examine the factors associated with households’ choice of energy for cooking. Using Indonesia Family Life Survey-East, which specifically collected information from households in the eastern part of Indonesia, the study demonstrates that reliance on clean energy is highest among affluent households and households with better socio-economic indicators (including higher education, non-farm livelihoods, smaller sizes, and electricity connectivity). Households located in urban areas and households located closer to markets tend to rely more on gas for cooking energy. In contrast, poorer rural households residing in villages with abundant natural resources (i.e., with a high share of forests and farmland) generally use firewood as their main source of energy when cooking. The findings of this research also show that energy prices are important in explaining the use of clean or dirty fuel for cooking. It is suggested that efforts to enhance household clean energy use are driven by improved household economic status (especially income and education), access to markets, and stable energy prices. Policy interventions that account for energy and environment issues need to be designed to reduce the overuse of firewood for cooking energy in households living next to common property resources. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.