|Question 9Verbal

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In Brazil, use of solid fuel (e.g., coal, wood) as a share of total household fuel use fell by around 70 percent between 2000 and 2019; such shifts are typically explained by appeal to the energy ladder, a model holding that fuel choice is mediated mainly by household income (specifically, high-technology fuels displace solid fuels as incomes rise). Alemu Mekonnen and Gunnar Köhlin's study of fuel use in Ethiopia shows this model to be reductive, however: household fuel use was heterogeneous, flexible, and influenced by several factors, including households' cooking habits.
Based on the text, how would an advocate of the energy ladder model most likely explain the change observed in Brazil?
Between 2000 and 2019, household incomes rose in Brazil, resulting in households meeting a greater proportion of their fuel needs with high-technology fuels.
A
Beginning in 2000, high-technology fuels became more readily available in Brazil, enabling households of various income levels to shift away from solid fuels.
B
Solid fuel use declined in Brazil between 2000 and 2019 because changes in household income during that period made solid fuels more expensive relative to income.
C
Household incomes in Brazil rose from 2000 to 2019, which weakened the association between income and household fuel choice.
D