Solid fuels heating poses a significant concern in terms of air pollution, comparable to the impact of road traffic. Local and regional plans focus on addressing emissions from both sources, aiming to mitigate their environmental impact. However, a noteworthy disparity exists in the treatment of these pollution sources within EU regulations. While stringent measures restrict the purchase and use of high-emission diesel cars, the regulation does not extend similarly to wood stoves, which can emit pollutants at rates 100 times or more higher than cars.
Many European households heat their homes with wood-burning stoves, amounting to 4.3 million solid fuel heating appliances sold in the EU in 2019. However, in 2021, scientists warned that increasing wood use as a fossil fuel replacement jeopardizes climate goals. Bioenergy demand has surged by 150% since 2000 due to inadequate policies, a trend set to continue based on EU countries’ decarbonization strategies. Despite biomass being touted as a solution in various sectors, including construction and packaging, current policies overestimate forest and soil resources by 40-100%, raising sustainability concerns.
What’s the EU doing?
The wood-burning policy conundrum comprises a plethora of laws and policy objectives ranging from the sourcing of wood and forest management practices, to the role of bioenergy in reaching carbon neutrality, or the design of heating appliances. Currently, two separate Ecodesign and Energy Labelling regulations govern solid fuel heating appliances, setting energy efficiency thresholds and emission limits. There is a specific regulation for solid fuel local space heaters, and another one for solid fuel boilers.
What does the Coolproducts campaign want?
This paradox stems from the classification of biomass as an infinite and renewable energy source, resulting in preferential treatment for biomass-based heating technologies at both the EU and national levels. The Coolproducts campagin advocates for a paradigm shift, calling for an end to this incongruity. The campaign champions heating technologies that exclusively employ cutting-edge solutions, minimizing their contribution to air pollution and mitigating spikes in CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
Our perspective on the role of biomass in heating is circumscribed to rural areas where alternative options are limited. We advocate for an incremental approach, emphasizing the use of the best available techniques to curb all pertinent pollutants. Coolproducts actively strives to translate this vision into technical regulations, notably influencing frameworks such as the Ecodesign and Energy label for solid fuel space heaters and boilers. The objective is to align these regulations with their vision for environmentally responsible heating technologies.
- In line with the intentions set out in the current regulations on solid fuel local space heaters and boilers, PM, NOx, PN, black carbon, OGC and ultrafine particle emissions emissions should be assessed with the aim of setting stricter Ecodesign requirements.
- Include non-woody biomass appliances, such as stoves and boilers burning straw, and biomass boiler for hot water only should be included.
- The introduction of emission classes on the energy label should be explored in the energy labelling framework.
- The European Commission must issue a new standardization request, mandating the development of appropriate testing standards
- RED sustainability criteria should be sharpened and broadened to biomass for all purposes. The European Commission should start an evaluation process, assessing whether the ‘cascading use principle’ is respected, thus ensuring that wood is used primarily for high-value applications before it becomes an energy source. Only an enhanced RED can make wood-burning genuinely climate-neutral, avoid the destruction of forests, and preserve the trees’ capacity to sink carbon
English 
Spanish