Air quality in Australia can be improved through education on the correct use of wood heaters – without the need to resort to unnecessary bans – according to the AHHA.

General manager Demi Brown said to point the blame of all air pollution on wood smoke without looking at the facts was alarmist and unnecessary.

“During the year a number of factors can affect the air we breathe such as bush fires, burning of winter crop stubbles, industry, diesel engines, motor vehicle use and the topography of the land around us,” she said.

“Wood heating delivers the lowest carbon footprint of any form of home heating – particularly when firewood is sourced from a sustainably managed forest.”

Ms Brown said that, to ensure continued consumer right to choose the best home heating solution, all factors affecting community air quality need to be considered.

“This includes evaluating the pros and cons of all home heating options and the total pollution effect,” she said.

“All heating appliances contribute to pollution.

“When used to generate energy, fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas release carbon as carbon dioxide from sources that have taken millions of years to accumulate.

“They cannot be replenished in anything less that geological timescales.

“As we extract and burn fossil fuels we increase the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in what is, essentially, a one-way trip.”

Ms Brown said that if wood is burnt to produce energy it usually displaces fossil fuels.

Sustainably managed forests and plantations that are regrown have a dual benefit:

• They are effectively carbon neutral; and

• The wood biomass used to generate energy eg; firewood, eliminates the greenhouse gas emissions that would have resulted from the alternative of burning fossil fuels.

Ms Brown said education was vital to minimising wood smoke, including the use of dry, seasoned wood and purchasing wood from a reputable supplier.

In total, more than 75 per cent of those who used wood heating in the ACNielsen survey, said their heating costs would rise if wood heaters were no longer permitted.