The U.S. and Australia have Similar, but Distinct, Stove Regulation Strategies.

Australia is in the process of developing stricter emission standards for wood heaters and their approach is a fascinating glimpse into another regulatory culture. The strategies and cost – benefit analysis in Australia should be a valuable comparison for the EPA as it finalizes its New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for US wood heaters. This post is an overview of an Australian report showing the financial gains created by stricter regulations on wood heaters.

In 2011 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) identified air quality as a Priority Issue of National Significance and agreed that the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water (SCEW) would develop a National Plan for Clean Air to improve air quality, and community health and well being, to be delivered to COAG by the end of 2014. The first stage of the National Plan for Clean Air will focus on particle emission reductions and a consultation Regulation Impact Statement which assesses alternative policy options that could be employed to reduce emissions from wood heaters in Australia, and establishes their relative costs and benefits.

The current Australian Standards that cover wood heater emissions and efficiency set a criterion of 4 grams of particulate matter (PM₁₀) per kilogram of fuel brunt (4g/kg). There is currently no efficiency criterion, but efficiency results must be reported on a label permanently attached to the appliance.

The report showed a large range of potential policy measures that could be implemented to reduce emissions from wood heaters. The potential measures fall into three major categories:

• wood heater design or performance standards;
• measures to promote compliance of retail models against these standards; and
• measures influencing the in-service operational performance of wood heaters.

These measures could be delivered through a range of policy 'vehicles'. The policy delivery approaches examined are a voluntary national program, a collaborative approach or a national regulatory approach.

Under the business-as-usual or 'base case' scenario, particulate emissions from wood heaters in Australia are expected to fall by around 5000 tons (or 12%) over the next twenty years, as old heaters are progressively replaced with new, lower particulate emitting heaters. The reduction in annual particulate emissions from wood heaters under the policy options examined, over and above the business-as-usual reductions, range from 3% to 18%.

The estimated costs to government of implementing the different policy options range from $15 million over the next twenty years to around $39 million. The estimated costs to manufacturers range from $240,000 to $17 million, the strictest boasting an efficiency standard of 60% as well as an emission limit of 1.5 g/kg. The health benefits of the options are estimated to range from $760 million to around $1,850 million over the twenty year assessment period. Although the greatest emission reductions are estimated for the most expensive option, the highest health benefits are estimated for another which has a shorter phase-in period for the new standards. The estimated benefits far outweigh the estimated costs of all options included in the analysis. The present value of the net benefits range from around $750 million to $1,800 million.

The report concludes the greatest net benefits are likely to be achieved via a national regulatory approach for managing wood heater emissions, rather than through a voluntary or collaborative approach. This could be achieved either through a Commonwealth regulation, a National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) or through mirror legislation.

View the full report here.

Support Your Economy, Buy Local Firewood!

From retail shops to farmer’s markets, stickers and posters with the slogan “Buy Local” can be seen plastered just about everywhere these days. They're there to remind shoppers that purchasing goods and services locally supports small community businesses, protects the environment and keeps the local flavor of an area alive. 

Based on the disproportionate amount of coverage it receives, you might think that purchasing locally only applies to food. And while it may be the case that locally grown fruits and vegetables are often fresher and more wholesome – not to mention more sustainably harvested – than what is sold in the chain supermarkets,  food is certainly not the only product you should be buying locally: wood stove owners who purchase their firewood from local dealers are also doing their part to finance their communities, sustain jobs and secure their nation's energy independence.  

It has previously been demonstrated that local purchasing – whether food, hardware, or firewood – makes a lot of fiscal sense. The more local shoppers purchase goods and services from small community vendors instead of large chains, the more self-reliant and resilient the economies of these areas become, experts say. According to a study by the independent British think tank New Economics Foundation, twice the money stayed in the community when consumers bought goods from a local market rather than a chain store. Such evidence echoes what local purchasing advocates have been saying for some time. 

"If you're buying local and not at a chain or branch store, chances are that store is not making a huge profit," says David Morris, Vice President of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit economic research and development organization based in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. "That means more goes into input costs—supplies and upkeep, printing, advertising, paying employees—which puts that money right back in the community."

Moreover, buying local helps keep money circulating in the community by increases the “velocity of money” – the term economists use to describe the rate at which the currency changes hands.  Most experts tend to agree that the greater the velocity of money in an area, the better it will be for the local economy. As David Boyle, researcher for the New Economics Foundation explains, “Money is like blood. It needs to keep moving around to keep the economy going."

So whether you’re in the market for food or fuel, it really is better to buy local.  By purchasing firewood from your local dealer, you can be assured you are doing your part to help your neighbors and, if you are American, wean the U.S. off of expensive foreign oil.