London Mayor Sadiq Khan made headlines when he called for a ban on wood-burning stoves in the city. The announcement comes in light of growing worries over the capital’s worrying levels of pollution, which Khan described as ‘sickening’. This statement, however, can be taken literally, as shown by recent findings.
The Independent reports air pollution is the chief cause of an estimated 9,500 early deaths in London and 40,000 across Britain. Last October, the atmosphere over the entire city was found to exceed the limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a dust particle known as PM2.5. The research, which was based on the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory, explains that PM2.5 is widely regarded as the most harmful type of air pollution. This is because it exacerbates lung and heart conditions, raising concerns over public health in the capital. As it stands, 7.9 million of London’s residents – or 95% of the city’s population – currently reside in areas that exceed the PM2.5 limit by at least 50%, with Central London averaging at double the threshold.
Crackdown on air pollutants
Central to the controversy over London’s air crisis are tire and break wear, construction, diesel cars, and wood burning. Although the increase in number of diesel cars in the capital have played a huge role in amplifying the air crisis, one of the most pressing areas of concern is the rise in the use of wood-burning stoves in recent years.
The BBC revealed that approximately 12% of London’s air pollution came from wood burning in 2012. By 2017, however, this figure had nearly tripled, with wood-burning stoves responsible for up to a third of the city’s PM2.5 levels. Other studies report that wood burning in the country as a whole is responsible for 2.4 times more PM2.5 pollution than traffic. These stoves are among the oldest form of home heating and, ironically, are heavily marketed as environmentally friendly. Latest figures reveal that 16% of London’s homes are equipped with wood-burning stoves, with 200,000 units sold annually.
The ban on wood burning is part of a greater city effort to reduce air pollution in London, which seeks to meet the WHO standards for PM2.5 limits by 2030. As such, the city is set to enforce tougher emission limits on construction machinery, as well as reforming the Clean Air Act to set tighter limits for wood-burning stoves. In addition, the local government is calling on Environment Secretary Michael Gove to facilitate countrywide regulations in following suit.
Future implementation
However, homeowners need not worry about new regulations suddenly rendering their stoves useless. The local campaign puts emphasis on educating owners not to burn wood during bad air quality episodes, while adding more restrictions on commercial users like hotels. In addition, The Guardian clarifies that stoves would only be banned in certain zones from 2025 onwards, with UK-wide laws set to have tighter regulations on wood stove quality in five years.
This means that the national government will be blocking the sale of all but the newest and greenest wooden stoves by 2022. Homeowners have until then to upgrade their units, or retire them altogether for purely decorative uses.
Additionally, homeowners can also opt to switch to alternative sources of heating that do not burn wood, such as pellets, gas, or electric fires. Pellet fires have been found to be cleaner and more efficient than burning wood, and would require less home remodelling than other alternative sources of fuel. On the other hand, Screwfix illustrates that gas fireplaces can have rotary or slide control for easier operation, not to mention low maintenance costs despite having high heat efficiency. Lastly, electric fires do not give off flames altogether. They simply radiate heat, without the sight and ambience of an actual fire.
At the end of the day, tough steps must be taken to address the continuing air quality crisis in London and the rest of the UK. Whether it means stricter implementation of existing laws or further amendments to air-related regulations, the health of the citizens depends on the changes.
