The Conservation Council ACT Region has today expressed dismay after the ACT Government refused to take concrete steps on a commitment to phase out wood heaters in the Territory by 2045, which was initially announced in 2023.
The Government yesterday voted down a motion from the ACT Greens that called for the Government to, among other initiatives;
- begin community consultation on a wood heater phase-out plan, to be finalised by July 2026,
- publish the AECOM air quality study and 2024 Air Quality Report, and
- establish a wood heater register for the territory.
In response, Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Suzanne Orr, downplayed the polluting impacts of wood heaters, and minimised the Government’s previous announcements on a commitment for a phase-out, saying that it was only agreed to ‘in principle’. She also said that an agreement to ban wood heaters in Tuggeranong, where smoke impacts are the worst, was also only made ‘in principle’.
“Wood heaters have no place in Canberra’s all-electric, 100% renewable energy future,” Executive Director of the Conservation Council ACT Region, Simon Copland, said. “Wood heaters increase climate emissions, are a risk to the health of our community and destroy our precious native forests to source firewood. 65,000 people across Canberra live with a respiratory disease, and research shows that wood heater smoke kills up to 63 Canberrans every year.”
“The Government’s vote yesterday shows they have no interest in removing this dirty, old, technology from our city. It is absolutely appalling that in face of all of the evidence of the harms of wood heaters, the Government has decided phasing them out is too difficult and not important enough. The Government has chosen to continue polluting our environment and inflicting harm on thousands of Canberrans.”
Copland said this showed a Government that was saying one thing, yet doing another.
“The ACT Government’s own woodfire heating website says “wood smoke can cause health problems like asthma, chronic lung disease, heart problems and premature births and deaths. By using a wood heater, you are releasing harmful pollutants into the air. In winter, wood fire heater smoke is the main cause of air pollution in Canberra.” Yet, in yesterday’s vote the Government has now said it doesn’t really care about all of these harms.
“Time and time again we see the Government telling Canberrans they are committed to the environment, yet doing the opposite. This is another sad example in this hypocritical approach.”
Copland said that it is not too late for Labor to reverse course and establish a real plan to phase out wood heaters in the ACT.
“The Government showed leadership in 2023 by committing to phase out wood heaters. They can show such leadership again, all it takes is to step up and start taking action. We call on the Government to recommit to this phase out and implement the following to make this happen:
- Speed up the target date for the replacement of wood heaters with electric alternatives in all ACT suburbs (excluding rural areas). This should be supported through accessible financial support and rebates for lower income households.
- Begin by removing and replacing all wood-burning heaters in Government owned buildings including social housing.
- Invest in further air quality monitoring stations. There are currently only three monitoring stations across the Territory. The inadequacy of this was highlighted in 19/20 bushfire season.
- Ban new wood heater installations, inline with the ban on new fossil gas connections.”