COOKING, SMOKE AND HEALTH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Early day motion 770, tabled 23 February 2005 by Fabian Hamilton (Labour). Signed by 75 members.

That this House notes with concern that the World Health Report 2002 shows that smoke pollution from solid fuel cooking stoves is the fourth greatest risk factor for death in developing countries, killing over 1.6 million people each year, as detailed in the Intermediate Technology Development Group report Smoke, the killer in the kitchen; notes that almost half of humanity cooks with polluting solid fuels, resulting in significant respiratory illness; believes that it is a scandal that this health risk has been largely ignored by the international community and very little action has yet been taken to reduce pollution in the homes of billions of people; calls on the Government to take a leading role - as a member of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air - in the fight for clean cooking in homes in the developing world, with the aim of achieving the Millennium Development Goals of poverty reduction and a reduction in child mortality; and calls for the UK presidency of both the G8 and EU in 2005 to take this opportunity to eradicate this global problem.

Signatures by party: Labour 38, Liberal Democrat 14, Conservative 12, Labour/Co-operative 4, Plaid Cymru 3, DUP 2, UUP 2.