Answer given by Mr Jørgensen on behalf of the European Commission

24.3.2025

The Commission has not recently proposed any new requirements for wood-burning stoves or a phase-out of biomass stoves.

Nevertheless, the Commission is engaged in an open dialogue with industry and Member States on how to improve the environmental performance of wood-burning stoves.

The Commission is legally required to undertake a review of existing measures, for example regarding solid fuel local space heaters and solid fuel boilers pursuant to the Ecodesign Directive.

Following the established procedures, all relevant stakeholders, including Member States, are invited to share their views. It is important to note that any revised ecodesign requirements will not apply retroactively. Revised requirements, if any, will as always be introduced after reasonable lead times.

During the Commission’s review of the ecodesign requirements for solid fuel local space heaters, it has been found that real-life pollutant emissions, mainly particulate matter (PM) from wood-burning stoves, remain very high.

PM is responsible for a high number of premature deaths and bronchitis cases in the EU[1], including among children. This amounts to significant damage costs, which could be substantially reduced by applying state-of-the-art technology to reduce emissions as it is also stressed in the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

The Commission will continue to ensure that any revised ecodesign measure is carefully assessed to avoid any significant impact on consumers and contribute effectively to our energy goals.

• [1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/harm-to-human-health-from-air-pollution-2024