Air pollution caused by wood-burning appliances in people's homes is responsible for more than €17 billion a year in health-related costs in the EU and UK.
“It’s really important to take the health impacts of air pollution into account,” says Korteland. Policy-makers don’t usually do this because no economic value is placed on it, she says.for heating or cooking results in €27 billion of health-related costs a year in the EU and UK. That is nearly as much as air pollution from residential transport, which causes €36 billion in health-related costs a year.
Wood-based home appliances are responsible for 63 per cent of the €27 billion, because burning wood has high health costs relative to the energy it generates. In the UK, for instance, wood stoves provide just 11 per cent of the final energy used for heating and cooking, but cause 54 per cent of health-related costs, the study found.
The average health costs from using a wood stove for a year are €750 per household, says Korteland, compared with €210 from driving a diesel car and €30 from a gas boiler.If countries swapped stoves and boilers for heat pumps powered by electricity from non-biomass and non-fossil fuel sources, the health-related costs from air pollution from heating could be reduced to zero, the study says.
What’s more, the calculated costs are a considerable underestimate, the team thinks, because they don’t consider indoor air pollution.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
GBP/USD Forex Signal: Stuck in a Tight Range Ahead of UK GDPThe GBP/USD price moved sideways after the relatively strong American jobs data and the impact of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Read more »
EU will do 'whatever it takes' to rebuild solar energy manufacturing in EuropeThe European Commission will do 'whatever it takes' to rebuild Europe's industry manufacturing parts for solar installations, the EU's energy commissioner said on Thursday, as the bloc draws up plans to quickly cut reliance on Russian gas.
Read more »
EU lawmakers set to tighten up on crypto transfersEuropean Union lawmakers were set on Thursday to back tougher safeguards for transfers of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, in the latest sign that regulators are tightening up on the freewheeling sector.
Read more »
Russia Holds Onto Positions Near Kyiv; UK Spy Chief Says Putin ‘Massively Misjudged' WarRussian attacks are continuing around the Ukrainian capital despite promises that Moscow would scale back its activity near Kyiv, officials say.
Read more »
U.K. intelligence chief says Putin's Plan B is 'more barbarity against civilians' in UkraineU.S. intelligence shows 'it is increasingly clear that Putin's war has been a strategic blunder,' the White House said.
Read more »
U.K.’s Top Court Withdraws Judges Presiding in Hong Kong, Citing Loss of Freedoms in CityTwo top U.K. judges serving on Hong Kong’s highest court have resigned, citing damage to freedoms in the city following Beijing’s imposition of a national security law in June 2020
Read more »