Millions of lives could be saved and greenhouse gas emissions reduced if Africans used cleaner burning charcoal, researchers say.

By shifting from buring wood to burning charcoal, premature deaths in sub-Saharan Africa could be prevented.

More than 1.6 million people, mostly women and children, die prematurely wordwide from respiratory diseases caused by pollution from wood burning fires, the study's researchers said.

Wood burning (Courtesy: Harvard School of Public Health)

When people burn wood on their stoves and to cook, they are exposed to smoke. An estimated 6.7 billion tonnes of carbon are also released into the atmosphere.

"This study shows that choosing energy technologies with an eye toward improving health and quality of life in one of the world's most impoverished areas offers us opportunity to significantly reduce premature deaths, especially among women and children," said Prof. Majid Ezzati, an international health researcher at Harvard University.

Ezzati co-authored the study in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Dan Kammen of the University of California, Berkeley, led the study on the health and environmental effects of a new fuel.

The study predicts what the effects would be if the change is phased in gradually over 50 years, or quickly within the next 15 years.

Using brick or steel kilns in combination with emission controls could make charcoal burning a cleaner, more efficient option for the continent.

"Helping African nations make the transition to clean charcoal without drastically increasing pollution and decimating tropical forests would be an excellent way to help achieve several of the United Nations' 'millennium development goals,'" the study concluded.

The UN goals include reducing child mortality and achieving environmental sustainability.