Cooking gas prices push families to use wood

• With the price of gas above R$100, the crisis is getting worse for the poorest families;

• Wood waste consumption increased by 1.8% from 2019 to 2020;

• Petrobras is planning a cooking gas access program.

Petrobras announced on Friday (8) increases of 7.2% in the prices of gasoline and cooking gas at refineries. As an example, the value of a gas cylinder of 13 kg is the highest value that has been used in 20 years.

Now, with the price of cooking gas reaching more than R$100, the crisis in the budget of the poorest families is worsening. In this scenario, the use of firewood has become more throughout Brazil since the beginning of the epidemic.

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According to the Energy Research Corporation, wood waste consumption rose 1.8% in 2020, compared to 2019. Families are left to use gas canisters only in emergencies. Some even sold their own stove to make some money in the crisis.

However, the use of fuelwood and charcoal for cooking presents a setback to health and quality of life.

Gas was used more than firewood until 2017, a period when the price of a cylinder began to explode. At the time, Petrobras changed its pricing policy, readjusting LPG as oil prices and exchange rates increased. The same has been done before with gasoline and diesel oil.

While low-cost, low-carbon solutions and alternatives do not reach the poorest population, firewood tends only to grow. This part of the population experiences the force of inflation, on a daily basis, stronger than the rich.

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The state company is planning a program to access cooking gas. Petrobras’ board of directors approved the release of R$300 million to help the poorest segments of the population purchase the cylinder.

The form of distribution, at 15 months, has not yet been determined. However, it is expected that with the project it will reach 400,000 families, which is far from the total population affected by the price hike.

Information from the state.