Energy transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policy recommendations for charcoal trade, solar PV adoption, and sustainability in rural Zambia

• Charcoal income supports rural solar PV adoption, creating a Charcoal-Solar Paradox. • Urban energy policies, not rural bans, are key to curbing rural charcoal production. • Women earn less in charcoal trade, face exploitation, abuse, & financial exclusion. • Twenty trees needed to make charcoal worth a basic two bulb solar PV light system. • Charcoal is undervalued, trapping rural producers in poverty while middlemen profit.