Green Rural
Wang Shi, serving as the China Board Member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC)—launched by the United Nations Foundation in 2010—has actively promoted the implementation of clean cookstove initiatives in China. In 2017, the C Team project team piloted a clean cookstove program in eight natural villages in Shaanxi Province, reaching 500 rural households, to address indoor air pollution caused by inefficient stove structures and incomplete combustion. Building on this work, C Team launched the “Green Rural Roots” Initiative in 2018, focusing on rural clean energy and community development to support greener and more livable rural communities in China.
To better respond to local villagers’ needs for livelihood development and community improvement, the initiative was further advanced with support from the Vanke Foundation and the UNDP–GEF Small Grants Programme. C Team established partnerships with the Shaanxi Funü Hui Gender Development Center and the Zhongguancun Clean Air Industry Alliance (BCAA) to implement the “Green Rural Roots” Initiative through a community-led development model. Through participatory community training and small-grant projects, the program supported livelihood development in the Nangoumen community. In parallel, environmental outreach activities conducted by Yan’an University’s San-Nong Society combined cultural performances with environmental education, helping villagers raise awareness of environmental protection and health, jointly improve the village environment, and attract additional technological innovation and resource support for clean cookstove solutions—ultimately forming an integrated, replicable application model.
The project implemented three clean heating technology pathways. Among participating households, 10 households adopted biomass stoves combined with biomass pellets, 5 households adopted a photovoltaic power generation plus electric heating system, and 2 households adopted a solar thermal heating system combined with passive house heating. In addition, 5 coal-heated households were included as a control group.
The project team conducted a systematic assessment of the environmental benefits of the demonstration technologies. The results showed that clean heating technologies not only improved local air quality but also delivered significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. Based on data collected between October 2019 and July 2020, the biomass stove pathway (10 households) and the photovoltaic + water-heated kang pathway (5 households) together achieved annual reductions of more than 2,827.5 kg of air pollutants and 96.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Between mid-March and mid-July 2020, the photovoltaic systems generated 8,416 kWh of clean electricity, creating additional household income of RMB 3,198.
By replacing coal-based heating, these clean heating solutions significantly reduced residents’ exposure to carbon monoxide, lowering health and poisoning risks and improving overall quality of life.
During project implementation, the team identified that locally available biomass resources—such as crop residues and discarded tree branches—could feasibly be compressed and processed into biomass fuel. As a result, pilot production of biomass briquette fuel was incorporated into the project. After multiple formulation and blending trials, the team successfully produced biomass pellets of higher quality than comparable products on the market, validating the feasibility of localized biomass fuel production. This pathway also provides a practical solution to address open-field straw burning pollution in the region.
