Page 2679 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 June 2012
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These national standards are inadequate and do not address the health and environmental problems. They are the same standards that have been in place without change since 1999. The allowable emissions of four grams of particulate matter per one kilogram of wood burned are over four times the emissions standards allowed in leading jurisdictions. The national standards do not meet minimum efficiency levels for heaters, despite leading jurisdictions adopting emissions standards of up to 65 per cent.
Moves to strengthen the national standards have failed, making it imperative that the ACT takes action. We need to ensure that ACT residents receive the health and environmental benefits of improved wood heater standards.
Some other jurisdictions in Australia, and many around the world, have recognised the environmental and health impacts and taken action. Some Australian councils have banned wood heaters, some have limited their installation in certain developments, and some have enacted emission controls over and above the national standard.
New Zealand has already taken action, ignoring the emissions limit in the Australian-New Zealand standard and setting its own standard for wood heater emissions. All wood heaters installed in New Zealand’s urban environment must meet a minimum emission standard of 1.5 grams per kilogram and efficiency of at least 65 per cent. Some regions of New Zealand have gone further. In Otago all wood heaters have to meet an emissions rating of 0.7 grams per kilogram and 65 per cent efficiency for new and existing heaters, which means that old, noncompliant heaters have to be removed.
The ACT has run a program since 2004 to provide a rebate to residents who exchange their wood heating for gas heating. While this is a good initiative, it is not sufficient to address the problems posed by wood heater pollution in Canberra. It does not deal with the installation of new wood heaters having appropriate emissions and efficiency standards.
The key proposal in this draft legislation is that it would establish new, stricter emissions and efficiency standards that wood heaters must meet before they can be sold in the ACT or installed in an ACT residence.
Over time this would make an important contribution to reducing the particulate pollution created by wood heaters in the ACT, as well as the amount of wood needed for fuel. The standards would bring the ACT in line with jurisdictions that are leading the way in reducing wood smoke pollution to help address health and environmental issues.
The emission standard proposed is one gram per kilogram. The efficiency standard proposed is 65 per cent. The combination of these standards is expected to reduce pollution significantly over time. The standard is regulated by making it an offence for retailers to sell wood heater models that do not meet this standard and by making it an offence for builders to install models that do not meet the standard.
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