Stop Burning Stuff

There is no silver bullet for solving the Climate Crisis. To overcome the greatest threat known to all life on this planet will require thousands of changes all adding up to a combined solution.

However, if there are two mantras that we have tried to extol through our work in order to promote meaningful change, they would be “do more with less” and “stop burning stuff”.

While the latter can be broadly applied to everything from the extraction and burning of oil for cars, through to the use of kerosene in planes, it also applies to the little actions that thousands of people across Ireland take each day: the decision to light fires.

Today’s article explores the link between fireplaces and worsening both the Climate Crisis and public health.

Cosy vs Cancer

As we rapidly approach Christmas, the image of a roaring fire evokes ideas of cosiness and comfort – in fact, any Christmas card depicting an indoors scene will likely show a blazing fire with stockings hung with care above it.

Fire is an essential part of human mythology the world over, and in Ireland there is not only an emotional attachment to the idea of a fire, but also a cultural one – especially around the smell of turf fires.

The EPA has found that the burning of solid fuels, and the subsequent impact on lowering air quality, is responsible for an estimated 1,300 premature deaths per year.

The situation has got so bad that last month, the Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry at University College Cork advised people to avoid evening walks in areas experiencing poor air quality.

These aren’t rural areas where a single cottage has a small fire as their sole source of warmth, but urban places such as Sligo and Ennis, which have populations of over 19,000 and 25,000 respectively.

Alongside the 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland each year caused by the burning of solid fuels, we also see significant worsening of conditions such as asthma, heart attacks and strokes – with children also significantly affected.

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it has been the act of highlighting how many vulnerable people in society live with these underlying conditions.

With the rise of greenwashing, many people in Ireland have been sold a lie: “wood burning is climate-friendly”.

It is not. In fact, in a matter of minutes the burning of wood can release decades of stored carbon into the atmosphere, and in 2018 it was responsible for nearly half the emissions across Europe.

Alongside creating harmful CO2 and particulate matter emissions, burning wood and peat is also depleting the natural world around us – impacting ecosystems and reducing our capacity to store carbon dioxide in bogs and in trees.

Our reliance on burning solid fuels in fireplaces has led to the average Irish home emitting 58% more energy-related carbon dioxide than the average EU dwelling, according to the Climate Change Advisory Council.

This puts us in second place behind Poland for the highest use of solid fuels for heating in Europe.

Stop Burning Stuff

The Irish government has dragged its feet on this issue – as with so many other Climate Crisis issues – with a nationwide ban on smoky coal only due to come into effect in late 2022.

Yet, we are all responsible for our actions in the face of the Climate Crisis, and with the existential threat to all life on Earth that it presents, we must consider which values and cultures are useful for the future – and which must be left in the past.

The sight of a warm fire might be evocative, inviting and welcome, but it also presents significant dangers to our immediate health and the long-term health of our planet.

Remember the context that we find ourselves in: 5 million people are already dying due to the Climate Crisis each year, one-third of all animal and plant life faces extinction by 2070, and 1.2 billion people are likely to be displaced due to the Climate Crisis by 2050.

Do you really need that fire on Christmas day when another 1,300 people will die prematurely due to the emissions from solid fuel burning this year? Is your comfort worth an unliveable planet within our lifetime?

That’s your decision to make.

What To Read Next