A citizens’ petition to ban wood heating in the Brussels Capital Region received more than 1,000 signatures. This allowed the subject to be brought before the Environment Committee of the Brussels Parliament.
According to media outlet Bruzz, the presentation to the parliamentary committee was met with a markedly positive response.
A lot of pollution from a few wood burners
Laurent Scholtus of Chase the Smoke, Brussels! and Dr Sven Dammann of the citizens’ initiative Watermael-Boitsfort Airpropre told the parliamentary committee that 17% of PM2.5 in the Brussels region comes from wood heating, almost as much as the 22% from road traffic. But while traffic emissions have been high on the political agenda, emissions from wood heating have so far been grossly neglected.
This 17% figure “is all the more remarkable” because, according to figures based on Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) certificates, only 0.18% of homes in the region have a wood stove as the main source of heating. “In other words, a very small number of wood-burning stoves are responsible for exceptionally high particulate matter emissions.”
Utrecht’s precedent
The two cited the example of Utrecht in The Netherlands. There, an information campaign and a ban on wood stoves in new construction came into effect this year. From 2030, wood heating will be completely banned.
Political support for a ban
Most of the members of parliament in the committee supported the citizens’ initiative. MP Calvin Soiresse “admitted that the policy in previous years fell short… perhaps for reasons that are also cultural.” Another MP, Mounir Laarissi, stated that simply banning the installation of older secondhand wood stoves, as is currently the case, wasn’t nearly enough.
Only the francophone Reformist Movement MPs were against a ban, preferring to mandate certified wood stoves in place of stronger regulations.
Green MP Lotte Stoops “noted that there is still a lot of ignorance about the disastrous impact of wood heating.”
Wood-burning restaurants, too
Independent MP Sonja Hoylaerts, who is a former restaurant operator, stated that wood-burning ovens aren’t needed by restaurants, either:
From my own experience, I assure you—you can also make fine pizzas without wood.
More public awareness needed
Several of the MPs said that a public awareness campaign about the health risks of wood heating would be essential before a ban could be imposed.
One of the MPs, Jonathan de Patoul, admitted that he used to enjoy burning wood before he was aware of the issue. But he changed his mind after a neighbor installed a wood stove and smoke began infiltrating into his bedroom.
Policy changes to be decided later
No concrete policy measures have yet resulted from the hearing. New regulations on wood burning will be addressed after the next Brussels government is formed.
The two petition organizers said they were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They hadn’t expected such strong support for the measure.
Public support for a ban
In a follow-up, Bruzz posted a poll. Out of 129 readers who responded, 57% agreed with the statement: “Yes, there must be a ban on wood heating. We have the right to clean air.”
According to the website, “Many readers find wood burning antisocial.”
