Amsterdam eyeing ban on wood burning to improve air quality

Amsterdam is investigating various options to combat air pollution caused by wood smoke, including a possible ban on wood-burning fireplaces. The city wants to protect locals from the health risks of breathing wood smoke and will publish its proposals for achieving this later this month so that locals can weigh in.

“Tackling the nuisance caused by wood smoke is incredibly difficult because many people have fond memories of lighting a fire. I have them myself. But it has now turned out to be so unhealthy that I think it is irresponsible not to do anything about it,” alderman Melanie van der Horst (Air Quality) said.

According to the city, 20 percent of all soot particles in the air come from wood burning, making it the second largest source of soot pollution in Amsterdam after industrial companies.

Woodsmoke contains a lot of particulate matter and harmful substances that can cause or worsen lung diseases like COPD and asthma. The city receives reports of people struggling to breathe in their own homes because the neighbor has the fireplace going, Van der Horst said.

The alderman thinks people don’t realize how polluting even one fire in the woodstove can be. “Burning wood for two hours releases as much particulate matter into the air as a car driving from Amsterdam to Milan,” she said. “I also don’t think many people know how much trouble other people can get from this.”

On October 21, Amsterdam will present various measures to discourage wood burning and thus reduce health damage and pollution. These range from subsidies for removing flues and experiments with electric barbecue areas to a ban on wood fireplaces in new homes from 2027. The city is also investigating banning wood-burning fireplaces altogether. It could also follow Amersfoort’s example and only allow wood burning when the weather conditions allow for smoke to dissipate quickly.

“Such a change takes time, a conversation about it has to start first,” Van der Horst said. “It starts by emphasizing how extremely harmful wood smoke is.”

“In the meantime, we are looking at whether more can be done by using alternatives,” the alderman said. “For example, you are now hardly allowed to barbecue anywhere in the parks. If the experiment with power connections for electric barbecues is a success, we can see whether it is possible to designate more places where it is allowed.”