Strike down the stove ban.

The Scottish parliament must strike down the ban on wood-burning stoves in new houses.

Before the new regulations, wood-burning was considered a vital green energy strategy to meet our greenhouse gas emission targets. In the cost of living and climate crises, wood-burning is a practical and affordable solution using locally grown, sustainable timber. As the Scottish Government continues to subsidise the installation of wood pellet boilers, the law is clearly at variance with government policy.

Indeed, a report commissioned by Scottish Government ministers in 2001 shows that the burning of local logs is more than ten times less polluting than heating from renewable energy.

The issue of air quality does not apply in rural areas and city councils already use byelaws to tackle this problem in urban centres.

In rural and island communities, where electricity supply is far from reliable, a wood burning stove is an essential safety precaution for households facing power cuts in extreme winter weather.

Wood-burning provides livelihoods and commercial outlets for the Scottish forest industry, which practices the highest standards of sustainable forestry. It is a market for the local economy of woodland crofts and community-owned woodlands, championed by the Scottish government in recent years.

The new regulations call into question the affordability and practicality of those wishing to live off grid, disregarding an individual’s right to free choice of how to reduce their carbon footprint.

The change in regulations has been poorly consulted with wood stoves hidden within the wider home energy issue.

With many people living in rural and island areas in severe fuel poverty, seeking to prevent them from heating their homes in an affordable and environmentally responsible way is extremely misguided.

For the reasons given above, strike down this law made by and for the central belt, imposed upon rural and island communities.