Low-efficiency, climate-harming room air conditioners are common across the Global South. This is due largely to a practice known as environmental dumping, which raises costs for consumers, strains national electric grids, and jeopardizes climate mitigation targets.

What is environmental dumping?

When appliances that don’t meet the regulatory standards of the countries where they are manufactured are export to countries with lower or no standards, this is considered environmental dumping.

Environmental dumping of room air conditioners is a common practice, resulting in high volumes of low-efficiency, high-global-warming potential (GWP) room air conditioners in countries that lack stringent room AC standards and refrigerant regulations.

This occurs across the Global South, as research by CLASP and the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) has revealed. Studies from Africa (2020) and Southeast Asia (2023) have confirmed that low-efficiency, high-GWP cooling appliances are prevalent in both regions.

CLASP participated in the fourth Modern Energy Cooking Forum (MECF 2025) in New Delhi on 26 September. The event brought together diverse stakeholders to work towards integrating electric cooking (e-cooking) into India’s energy and climate policies.

Globally, more than 2 billion people still rely on polluting fuels like wood, charcoal, kerosene, or coal as their main cooking fuel¹. In India, about 54% of households use traditional solid fuels, either as their main source of energy or alongside liquefied petroleum gas, contributing significantly to indoor air pollution². Dependence on solid fuels negatively impacts people’s quality of life. It harms people’s health through exposure to smoke and pollutants, and it also limits productivity and keeps households trapped in a never-ending cycle of labor-intensive chores.

Improving household access to e-cooking helps address these challenges while advancing energy and climate goals. Shifting to cleaner, more efficient electric cooking can help reduce respiratory illness symptoms and other health impacts, save households time and money, while freeing up hours spent on fuel collection and cooking. From a climate perspective, the widespread adoption of e-cooking can reduce emissions from the residential energy sector and contribute to India’s decarbonization goals.

At MECF 2025, Neha Dhingra, CLASP’s Director, India, shared CLASP’s approach for accelerating India’s clean cooking transition. The approach focuses on market-shaping activities:

• Policy and institutional collaborations: CLASP has a longstanding relationship with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and will continue working with government stakeholders to align policies, standards, and procurement with clean cooking solutions. These collaborations are critical to ensuring that solutions are available and supported by national policies.
• Evidence and risk reduction: By providing robust appliance performance data and consumer insights, CLASP helps policymakers, financiers, and companies make informed investments in e-cooking.
• Consumer awareness and demand: CLASP will continue supporting campaigns that highlight the tangible benefits of e-cooking, from household savings to improved air quality and safer kitchens.

With this approach, CLASP aims to ensure that clean cooking appliances are available, but also affordable, trusted, and widely adopted. Through our partnership with MECS and in collaboration with local partners like Finovista, CLASP will provide venture-building support to Indian manufacturers, help identify high-growth opportunities, refine business models, and develop strategic connections with funders and partners.

CLASP’s Sumedha Awasthy (Senior Associate, Clean Energy Access) and Jatin Mathur (Associate, Clean Energy Access) also contributed to a special session on research and innovation in e-cooking, demonstrating how policy, finance, and market-building can speed up the shift. Their presentation highlighted initiatives such as the Global Leap Awards and the Institutional E-Cooking Demo.

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About CLASP’s Industry Accelerator Program in Pakistan

A collaborative initiative between CLASP and SAMA^Verte, the Industry Accelerator is aimed at transforming Pakistan’s electric motor manufacturing sector. Launched in 2023, the program focuses on enhancing the energy efficiency of locally produced electric motors and modernizing production processes. By providing technical assistance, facilitating international knowledge exchange, and supporting the development of energy-efficiency standards, the Industry Accelerator seeks to reduce energy consumption, lower CO₂ emissions, and strengthen the competitiveness of Pakistan’s motor industry.

Hundreds of millions of people globally still live without access to electricity. That means no way to cool their homes during hot summers, refrigerate food to keep it fresh, cook without inhaling toxic fumes, or farm without hours of grueling, manual labor.

For decades, the response has focused on expanding energy infrastructure. But power lines alone can’t deliver the full benefits. A village may get connected, but without a fridge, a fan, or a clean cookstove, electricity access remains incomplete.

This is where efficient, affordable appliances come in. They transform energy into opportunity for better health, productivity, and livelihoods. They also improve the economics of grid expansion which makes investment more attractive and sustainable.

To achieve the goal of universal energy access and improve millions of lives, we need to look beyond electricity. Appliances are not a luxury; they are essential energy infrastructure.

To learn more, explore CLASP’s research report “The Missing Piece of Energy Access: Why 15% of Energy Infrastructure Investment Must go to Appliances”.

Globally, hundreds of millions of people lack electricity. Most solutions focus on extending power supply infrastructure, but in marginalized areas, low electricity demand makes the expense of such infrastructure hard to justify. Increasing the use of energy-efficient appliances in these areas can attract electricity supply investments while delivering climate benefits. Achieving sufficient levels of appliance use to meet these goals would require allocating 15% of supply-side investments, or $38 billion USD, toward demand growth between now and 2030. The funding should focus largely on improving appliance affordability.

Key Findings

• Energy-efficient appliances are essential energy infrastructure, critical for achieving universal energy access and meeting climate mitigation and adaptation goals.
• Bringing modern energy to the 666 million people who lack it (most of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa) requires expanding power infrastructure to places with low electricity consumption.
• Increasing appliance access across Africa could generate demand for 342 terawatt hours of electricity annually, creating a market worth approximately $50 billion USD that would catalyze accelerated power infrastructure development.
• Focusing on expanding markets for energy-efficient appliances (as opposed to standard, less-efficient appliances) would provide many benefits, including avoiding an estimated 2.6 gigatons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually.

Recommendations

• The IEA estimates that at least $50 billion USD of public investment annually is needed until 2030 to achieve universal energy access. CLASP analysis shows that 10–15% of this amount—about $7.5 billion USD annually, or $38 billion USD in total—should be devoted to improving appliance access.
• Relevant decisionmakers should allocate 10–15% of power supply-side investments toward establishing sustainable electricity demand growth.
• Public institutions should target investments to overcoming market failures that limit appliance use—in particular, a lack of affordability and consumer confidence.
• All stakeholders should prioritize energy-efficient appliances over standard, less-efficient appliances.

Until recently, most local motor manufacturers in Pakistan only tested the basic functionality of the motors they produced. A recent collaboration between CLASP and SAMA_Verte is helping local manufacturers improve motor efficiency testing.

Improved, state-of-the-art testing labs are at the heart of this transformation. Equipped with advanced tools like calibrated dynamometers, power analyzers, and thermal imaging, these labs are helping engineers identify energy losses, improve designs, and ensure compliance with new national regulations set by the National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (NEECA) in Pakistan.

With access to high-quality testing data, manufacturers are redesigning components, reducing energy losses by over 20%, and delivering motors that are more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective. Beyond individual products, these advancements are lifting the entire industry—with the potential to boost exports in the future, creating skilled jobs and opening doors to a more energy-efficient future.

A collaborative initiative between CLASP and SAMA^Verte, the Industry Accelerator is aimed at transforming Pakistan’s electric motor manufacturing sector. Launched in 2023, the program focuses on enhancing the energy efficiency of locally produced electric motors and modernizing production processes. By providing technical assistance, facilitating international knowledge exchange, and supporting the development of energy-efficiency standards, the Industry Accelerator seeks to reduce energy consumption, lower CO₂ emissions, and strengthen the competitiveness of Pakistan’s motor industry.

AMDA represents over 40 mini-grid developers across the continent and is a strong voice for policies, financing, and standards that enable scale. The organization actively engages in regulatory reform and promotes sustainable business models.

“In the face of challenges that seem insurmountable, one truth remains: Business as usual is not an option. We cannot unlock universal energy access with fragmented strategies. We cannot power 680 million people still in the dark by 2030 without bold, coordinated, and scalable action,” Olamide (‘Lamide) Niyi-Afuye, CEO, AMDA.

Fun Fact: Mini-grids are key to reaching remote communities and AMDA is uniquely positioned to ensure the enabling environment keeps pace with the sector’s growth.

CCA drives efforts to make clean cooking affordable, accessible, and aspirational. Their work spans research, policy, investment facilitation, and ecosystem coordination.

“Whether from an energy access, climate, environment, health, or empowerment perspective, clean cooking is increasingly recognized as a critical component of a just energy transition. CCA is proud to have contributed to this shift. Our focus remains on turning commitments into actionable policies, business opportunities, and tangible investments that transform the pathways to clean cooking for the billions of people who still live without it,” Dymphna van der Lans, CEO, CCA.

Fun Fact: The clean cooking sector needs strong institutions to match its ambition. CCA brings the convening power, technical capacity, and cross-sectoral reach needed to transform this critical area of energy access.

GOGLA is the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, representing over 200 members. As a long-standing convener and advocate, GOGLA plays a critical role in shaping policy, collecting market intelligence, and promoting consumer protection. Their leadership helps build a transparent and investable solar market.

Fun Fact: GOGLA’s deep sector expertise, strong relationships with governments and financiers, and commitment to evidence-based advocacy make them a linchpin in advancing off-grid solar.

NOMAP supports Nigeria’s distributed renewable energy market through policy analysis, investor engagement, and ecosystem strengthening.

Fun Fact: NOMAP is helping to tackle Nigeria’s energy access challenge with strategic, locally grounded solutions and strong partnerships.

Precise builds learning ecosystems and delivers cutting-edge research and insights to business, governments, and non-profits in Ethiopia to help them make strategic development decisions.

“At Precise, we build market systems that empower local innovators and entrepreneurs to win the war against poverty. By partnering with philanthropies, we design and deliver bold, private sector-led solutions tailored to local realities. Solutions that help our partners do more with less. Our work drives systemic change that supports climate-resilient growth, creates jobs, raises incomes, improves nutrition and health, and empowers women,” Henok Assefa, Managing Partner, Precise.

Fun Fact: Precise designs and delivers bold, private sector-led solutions tailored to local realities that help their partners do more with less.

UOMA works closely with government, industry, and development partners to identify market barriers and coordinate solutions. Their work includes technical assistance, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement to advance energy access nationally.

“UOMA has played a pivotal role in Uganda’s energy access journey, unlocking capital, enabling last-mile delivery, and supporting over 250,000 households. As the sector grows more complex, UOMA’s role as a neutral intermediary is critical in bridging silos, aligning stakeholders, and translating ambition into coordinated, on-the-ground action, especially in emerging areas like productive use and humanitarian energy access,” Reza Fazel, Associate Partner at Open Capital and Head of UOMA.

Fun Fact: Uganda is a key energy access frontier, and UOMA has a strong record of translating insights into action and facilitating national-level collaboration.