Incentives, Tools and Platforms towards replacement of old wood-based biomass heating installations

• Emission tax for inefficient appliances: Emission tax for heating appliances. As can be found for industries, the idea is to develop a tax indexed to the emission values of one's heating appliance. This must be implemented on all types of heating (wood, gas, fuel oil) and take into account PM and CO2 so as not to disadvantage wood but rather favor an efficient appliance.
• Mandatory diagnosis at the time of sale or rental: to allow a regular diagnosis of the wood heating appliance, it may be required to carry out a diagnosis at the time of the sale of the property or when renting it out. This will then lead to a formal notice to change the non-compliant appliance. This type of action is already in place within the framework of the Arve PPA.
• Ban on the sale and import of non-performing appliances: a priori provided for in the European Ecodesign directive from 2022 for small individual appliances and 2020 for boilers.
• Implementation of a system to control compliance with obligations: without control the regulations are not respected. All regulations must be associated with a means of control.
• Prohibition of the use of auxiliary heating in periods of peak pollution of the combustion type: this obligation is already in force within the framework of certain APPs but does not present any means of control. It needs to be developed and better communicated in order to be complied with.
• Obligation of periodic inspection by chimney sweeps: during the sweeping process, a diagnosis of the wood-burning appliance could be imposed. For example, in Switzerland, this measurement is only carried out on appliances above a certain power level.
• Ban on open fireplaces: this is a first step before the ban on inefficient appliances.
• Drawing inspiration from transport regulations (e.g. on EPZs) for which European harmonization already exists: European political will concerns wood heating to a very limited extent, whereas many harmonized regulations affect the transport sector. However, the health impact of wood heating measures is much more important than for transport measures.

Tags: BB-Clean