Sadiq Khan asks for powers to control wood-burning
Part one of this blog was on the inconvenient truth that burning wood, especially in our cities, is a major contributor to particulate air-pollution that’s killing an estimated 29,000 people a year in the UK.
It describes how to be neighbourly and minimise your air-pollution:
- use a DEFRA approved or ecodesign stove, not an open-fire
- burn dry wood in a hot and efficient manner – as described in part 1
- don’t light your stove when bad air-pollution is forecast
In the 13 months since Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London, there have been 7 ‘red alert’ air pollution incidents, when Londoners were advised to stay indoors if possible.
Now he has called for only the least-polluting ecodesign woodstoves to be on sale after 2022 – and asked for powers in a revised Clean Air Act to restrict burning solid fuels from 2025. If granted, this will probably enable any UK city to:
- ban all burning of wood or coal in “zero-emission zones” that suffer the worst air quality. These will probably be small areas in city centres.
- bring in further restrictions over wider areas when there’s high air pollution.
“In an attempt to reassure the thousands of Londoners who bought the stoves in good faith, the focus will be on educating owners not to burn wood during bad air quality episodes.”
Those of us with fires or stoves can do the right thing now:
- don’t burn coal: it has much higher carbon emissions than wood
- don’t use an open fire, or if you must occasionally, block the chimney at other times
- use woodstoves in efficient, less polluting ways, as described in part 1
- when there’s poor air quality, stop burning wood or coal
- If you plan to fit a new woodstove, buy one that’s ecodesign ready
Woodstoves still provide low-carbon heating and create that cosy feeling. Let’s use them cleanly
On 8th & 14th October you can come to see and discuss this at our Eltisley Avenue Open Eco Home. Tom Bragg
PDF download of these 2 blogs, combined.