According to World Bank’s Global Tracking Framework of 2017 and WHO factsheet 2016, around three billion people rely on wood or other biomass for cooking and heating, resulting in indoor and outdoor air pollution that causes about 4.3 million deaths each year. More than 50% of premature deaths due to pneumonia among children under 5 are caused by the particulate matter (soot) inhaled from household air pollution (WHO factsheet 2016).

Asia is the region with the highest production of wood fuels, accounting for 771 million m³ or nearly 45% of global production. This is strongly driven by China and India which together consume one quarter of global wood fuel consumption.

Energy consumption has been rapidly growing in Bangladesh over the past two decades. Further, reliance on traditional fuels is high, with over 92% of rural households depending on biomass for cooking (BBS, 2010).

According to Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2012-2013 conducted by UNICEF (2015), majority of households in Bangladesh use solid fuels for cooking (88.2%); use of wood playing a major role (67.6%). Use of solid fuels is much lower in urban areas (58.3%) than in rural areas, where almost all households (96%) use solid fuels. Around half of urban households (50.5%) and 72% of rural households use firewood for cooking.

The findings from BDHS (2014) suggest that 82% of households in Bangladesh use solid fuel, including wood, agricultural crops, animal dung, straw, shrubs, grass, and charcoal: 50% in urban areas and virtually all (95%) in rural areas. The proportion of households that rely on wood for fuel has increased from 45% in 2011 to 50% in 2014. The increase occurred in both urban (35% in 2011 to 37% in 2014) and rural areas (48% in 2011 to 55% in 2014).