Old wood-burning stoves emit 80 percent of the particles responsible for 200 deaths a year in Denmark, and the only way to reduce this figure is to scrap the 470,000  currently in Danish homes, the engineering trade publication reports.

In 2012, new stoves with the Nordic Council’s swan ecolabel accounted for just 7 percent of the 12,000 tonnes of particles from wood burning, despite making up 20 percent of the total stoves in use.

75 million for cleaner air
Jes Sig Andersen, a senior researcher at the Danish Technological Institute, estimates that many old stoves give out between five and ten times as many particles as the newer, ecolabelled models. “Therefore it doesn’t have an effect on the total particle emissions to tighten the rules on new stoves as long as the old ones are still around,” he told Ingeniøren.

The environment minister, Kirsten Brosbøl, believes that the smoke from wood burning causes serious health problems in Denmark and has set aside 75 million kroner for cleaner air. “Over the course of this autumn we will, together with manufacturers and councils, get a clear idea of what input is needed,” she said.

Venstre’s environment spokesperson, Henrik Høegh, thinks that some of the money should go towards subsidising the replacement of old stoves.