CIEH shares disappointment at reported government decision on wood-burning stoves

The professional body representing environmental health professionals has shared its disappointment at reports that wood-burning stoves are set to be allowed to heat new-build homes in England.

A letter from the Government to the Stove Industry Association (SIA), as reported by the Guardian, states that the Government do not intend to ban wood-burning stoves in new homes under the Future Homes Standard, despite mounting evidence of the harmful effects of pollution caused by wood burning.

This potential decision would go against the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations’ that wood-burning stoves in homes should be phased out because of the carbon they emit. Wood burning smoke also contains fine particle air pollution (PM2.5), which is widely seen as the air pollutant that has the most devastating impact on human health.

The Future Homes Standard states as its aim that it will mandate that new homes in England be designed for low-carbon heating and high energy efficiency. Essentially, such houses will be carbon neutral once the grid itself is decarbonised.

The weakening of these rules for developers with the allowance for wood-burning stoves as a secondary heating source appears to go against these stated aims.

CIEH, along with the Healthy Air Coalition of which it is a member, have called for an action plan for the phasing out of domestic wood burning to be developed.

Therefore, CIEH believes this decision, if confirmed, to allow wood-burning stoves in new homes despite the growing evidence showing their significant contribution to air pollution and carbon emissions, is a backward step in the fight to improve air quality and protect public health.

Mark Elliott, President of CIEH, said:

“While CIEH understands that in some settings there is little or no choice for domestic wood burning, we have been clear that where there is a choice and alternatives available, these must be sought as the harmful effects of domestic wood burning cannot be ignored.

“The Future Homes Standard was an opportunity for the Government to make a clear commitment to phase out polluting wood burners.

“It would therefore be a real disappointment if this opportunity is lost. We urge the Government to be serious about air quality and protect the public from the harms that PM2.5 has on their health.

“We would call on the Government to reconsider their position on this matter before it’s too late. We will continue to advocate for homes being heated in the cleanest way possible to reduce the pollutants people and communities create, the health impacts they cause and the strain this generates on our health services.”