VOA慢速英语2021--燃气价格上涨迫使尼日利亚人重新使用木材烹饪

Natural Gas Costs Force Nigerians Back to Wood Cooking Fuel

Nigerians have been lining¹ up to buy Adunni Abdul's black-eyed peas called moimoi in a market in Lagos for more than 10 years.

Five years ago, she started to cook them in leaves using liquid petroleum² gas (LPG). That does not cause a lot of black smoke.

She had stopped using wood and charcoal³ after a campaign to improve public health. Now, the high prices for gas have forced Abdul and many like her back to burning wood and charcoal and smelling smoke.

"Gas is costly⁴, that is why I am using firewood," she told Reuters. She explained that LPG had helped her breathe more easily and cooked her food faster.

Burning LPG releases around 50 percent less carbon than charcoal. It also releases 20 percent less carbon gasses than heating oil. Switching to the gas from wood is a central proposal for carbon reduction plans in Africa's most populous⁵ nation. Nigeria is home to more than 200 million people.

President Muhammadu Buhari commented on cleaner cooking in his recent speech at the United Nations climate meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. But LPG prices have risen by 60 percent over the past year in Nigeria's biggest city of Lagos. Inflation there is very high and unemployment is rising.

Many women like 73-year-old Abdul spend hours inside cooking areas or at roadside cooking stands. They believe they have no choice but to burn wood or charcoal although it damages their health and harms forests.

Nigeria's LPG use did not increase in 2020 after nearly 10 years of growth, according to the World LPG Association. In 2018, five percent of Nigerians used LPG for cooking while 73 percent depended on charcoal or biomass like wood. Those are the latest numbers from the United Nations International Energy Agency.

Lagos charcoal seller Jerry Inyang said he now sells as many as 90 packs of charcoal a day. Three times the amount last year. Also, household demand for LPG began falling in 2020, according to the World LPG Association. Information for 2021 is not yet available. The Nigeria LPG Association (NLPGA) said the country is at risk of losing the gains it has made in natural gas use.

Felix Ekundayo is deputy president of the NLPGA. He said a lack of energy supplies has led to an increase in prices for U.S., European and Middle Eastern LPG. He said prices are near a seven-year high and are behind Nigeria's rising prices.

Nigeria is a major oil producer and a member of OPEC, the organization for oil-exporting countries. But it lacks the industrial ability to process the oil. Nigeria burns off large amounts of natural gas every year.

Ekundayo said the falling value of the country's currency and a recently added 7.5 percent tax on LPG imports has increased prices further. The NLPGA has called on the government to withdraw the tax, which was added to make money for the government.

At the same time, gasoline subsidies⁶ cost the state billions of dollars. Ekundayo said supporting the dirtier fuel, while taxing LPG, breaks a promise to reduce carbon gasses.

"The time at which gas is displacing other dirty fuel, that is not the time to have inconsistent policy," Ekundayo said.

Spokesmen for Buhari and the Petroleum Ministry⁷ did not comment on the tax.

Abdul is also hoping LPG prices ease. The smoke from the wood fire hurts her chest, and she wants to use gas again. "I want the government to help and reduce this," she said.

Words in This Story

charcoal –n. a fuel made from burned wood

subsidy⁸ –n. money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue

inconsistent –adj. not continuing to happen or develop in the same way

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

3 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

6 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

8 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。