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This study investigated the effects of relative pricing of alternative cooking energy sources on their substitution. The study was conducted in Enugu State Nigeria using primary data collected from two hundred and four households from rural and urban areas of the state, using structured questionnaires. The information collected were pattern and levels of energy use, relative pricing of alternative energies and energy substitution pattern. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis and Chow test. Results show that the energy sources used in the rural areas are fuelwood (51.5%) and kerosene (48.5), while those used in the urban areas are fuelwood (30.6%), charcoal (31.6%), kerosene (33.7%) and liquefied petroleum gas (4.1%). There was a relative cross inelastic nature of the energy sources. The price of fuel wood varied inversely and directly with quantities of kerosene demanded in the rural and urban areas, respectively, while the price of charcoal had an inverse relationship with the quantities of kerosene consumed in both urban and rural areas. In particular, policies geared towards subsidizng cost of kerosene and LPG and making them more readily available will lead to reduction in the use of fuelwoods and charcoal in both the rural and urban areas, thereby reducing excessive pressure on our forest and green house gas emission..Keywords: Energy substitution, energy pricing, forest conservation

Female- and male-headed rural households have unequal opportunities in climate change adaptation. Efforts in climate change adaptation in regions with deeply entrenched sociocultural norms should also account for the varied gender components of climate change. The broad objective of this study is to integrate gender issues into climate change adaptation thereby distilling lessons and evidence for policymakers on how to approach the necessary transformation of gender relations in climate change interventions. The study employed focus group discussions to uncover the structural factors undermining women’s adaptive capacity, thereby making them vulnerable to climate change impacts. In addition to this, in-depth interviews were also conducted. For the in-depth interviews, 27 farmers were sampled using a snowballing method, while four focus groups were carried out differently for male and female farmers. Ten extension personnel and ten representations from the ministry of agriculture were also surveyed using in-depth interviews. Results from the study showed that female farmers in the region were more vulnerable to climate change as a result of the deeply rooted cultural systems and unwarranted assumptions about women. Findings also suggested that women with high adaptive capacity were less vulnerable to climate impacts. We conclude that gender-responsive climate change adaptation is important in achieving balanced relations that will ensure climate resilience in more equitable and nonhierarchical ways.

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