Africa’s burning charcoal problem

At a road block in western Tanzania, miles from anywhere, a uniformed official raises a flagged barrier. Nearby is a spill of black, like an oil slick. This is one of several checkpoints which have been set up around the country in a half-hearted attempt to curtail the largely unregulated trade of charcoal, widely used across the continent as a fuel for cooking.
Carbon emitting. Charcoal burning, like this, is escalating climate change.
Carbon emitting. Charcoal burning, like this, is escalating climate change.
Times Reporter