Time to recognise the impacts of air pollution from wood stoves

The Mayor’s Environment Strategy committed to reducing emissions from wood and other solid fuel burning in stoves in households, recognising that these stoves contribute significantly to air pollution in London.

However, since the strategy’s publication in May 2018, the scientific evidence from the impact of wood burning stoves has significantly grown.

The London Assembly has today called for the Mayor to begin a Londonwide awareness campaign to highlight the environmental evidence relating to wood burning fires.

Hina Bokhari AM, who proposed the motion, said:

“Particulate matter is one of the most serious pollutants in London and is connected to a range of conditions including decreased lung development and an increased risk of lung cancer. It is also linked with increased morbidity and mortality.

“Yet despite domestic wood burning being a major cause of particulate pollution its use has been rising in London and around the country.

“A further awareness campaign on the dangerous impact of domestic wood burning is needed to highlight the environmental evidence relating to wood burning fires.”

Caroline Russell AM, who seconded the motion, said:

“People think of sitting by a woodfire as a wholesome and literally heart-warming experience, but the reality is that particles in wood smoke pose a serious health threat.

"People with breathing and heart problems, children and older people are the most at risk here.

"The Mayor must make it clear to Londoners that breathing PM2.5 particles in wood smoke is far from wholesome."

The full text of the motion is:

The Assembly recognises the commitments in the Mayor’s Environment Strategy to reduce emissions from wood and other solid fuel burning in stoves in households and the recognition that these stoves contribute significantly to air pollution in London. This Assembly further notes the campaign to raise awareness amongst Londoners which saw Mayor Sadiq Khan invested £20,000 in an industry information campaign, including newspaper advertisements, encouraging people who currently use an open fire to switch to a cleaner, ecodesign-ready wood-burning stove, and use the best wood possible.

This Assembly however notes that since the publication of the Mayor’s Environment Strategy in May 2018 the scientific evidence from the impact of wood burning stoves has significantly grown.

The Assembly in particular notes the research published in September 2021 by the European Environmental Bureau which revealed that a new EcoDesign stove in 2022 is allowed to emit 60 times as much particulate matter as an old truck from 2006 and 750 times as much as a newer truck from 2014.

Recognising the increasing evidence of the impact of air pollution from wood stoves the Assembly calls upon the Mayor to provide a regular update to the London Assembly and to Londoners as to his actions to address his specific commitments in the Environmental Strategy to tackling these issues, setting out how he is now addressing the growing evidence relating to the true impact of wood burning stoves on air pollution.

As part of the Mayor regularly reporting back on his actions the Assembly specifically calls on the Mayor to provide a regular annual update on the proportion of London’s particulate matter pollution that is associated with wood burning, enabling Londoners to track progress on reducing the second largest source of particulate.

This Assembly also calls upon the Mayor to commit to a further Londonwide awareness campaign to highlight the environmental evidence relating to wood burning fires and to actively discourage their adoption in London.

This Assembly recognises that reforming the Clean Air Act to set tighter emission limits for wood burning stoves, as well as providing authorities with stronger enforcement powers in smoke control zones, setting minimum emission standards for new wood burning stoves sold in London would support the Mayor’s commitments in this area, and calls on the Chair of the Assembly to write to the Government and urge them to devolve powers to reduce air pollution from this source to the Mayor of London.