Thousands Of Fuel-Efficient Cookstoves Have Been Distributed In Partnership With First Climate

Ryanair, Europe’s greenest/cleanest major airline, today (30 Oct) announced that its customers’ donations have offset 280,000 tonnes of CO₂ with the distribution of thousands of fuel-efficient cookstoves in Uganda.

Ryanair’s “Improved Cookstoves Project”, in partnership with First Climate, is funded by Ryanair customers through its carbon offset programme, which gives the opportunity to offset the carbon cost of flights by making a voluntary donation to Ryanair’s environmental partners at the end of the booking process.

Over 90% of Ugandans (and almost 3 billion people worldwide) cook daily over an open fire or on simple wood/charcoal stoves. The charcoal/wood that is used releases toxins, smoke and greenhouse gases such as CO₂ and methane, both of which contribute to climate change. In addition, 2% of Uganda’s forest cover is lost every year, with fuel wood use being the second biggest driver of deforestation after land-clearing.

Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs said:

“We are delighted to see more and more customers contributing with voluntary donations through our Carbon Offset Initiative. Projects like First Climate’s “Improved Cookstoves” prove that these donations have significant and tangible results on the environment and societies.

We are pleased to support First Climate and we encourage our customers to continue supporting these exciting partnerships by making carbon offset donations when booking flights on the Ryanair.com website. We sincerely thank them for making projects like this possible.

CEO of First Climate, Jochen Gassner said:

“It is only thanks to voluntary commitment such as Ryanair’s and their passengers’ that projects like the Uganda Improved Cookstoves Project can be implemented. This commitment is an important contribution to climate change mitigation and also helps improve the lives of thousands of local families. We are grateful for the support we receive for the project.”