Heating with solid fuels has been regulated and restricted to reduce air pollution and related health concerns from burning these fuels. However, this can cause confusion in the market and potentially threaten the energy security of impoverished families who have relied on solid fuels as a cheap source of heating during the cold winter months.
Restrictions of solid fuel heating and energy insecurity
Heating with solid fuels has been regulated and restricted to reduce air pollution and related health concerns from burning these fuels. However, this can cause confusion in the market and potentially threaten the energy security of impoverished families who have relied on solid fuels as a cheap source of heating during the cold winter months.
Nº 24
- N/D
- Energy Emission Reduction
- Restriction of Solid Fuels
some attempts made
past case
Region-1
Region-2
Region-3
Region-4
ongoing case
no attempts made
None
Restrictions of solid fuel heating and energy insecurity
1) In 2022, the Irish Government amended the Air Pollution Act 1987 (Solid Fuels) Regulations (S.I. No. 529 of 2022) to set stricter environmental requirements for solid fuel heating. However, many households are struggling to meet these new requirements as solid fuels have been the most common source of heat for them, particularly middle and lower class households.
2) Qualitative research shows that in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, the use of solid fuels at the household level can be explained by structural elements. These include traditions, income generation practices and gender norms. Interventions aimed at reducing the use of solid fuels may therefore fail if they do not take account of this context and the resulting social barriers to change.
- Multilple (effects disconected from each other)
1) Collins, S. (2021, December 28). Irish homes will no longer be able to purchase these solid fuels in 2022 as new ban approaches. Irish Mirror. Available at https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/irish-homes-no-longer-able-25798698
McCarthaigh, S. (2022, April 29). More than half of all Irish households continue to use solid fuels such as coal, peat and wood to heat their homes. Irish Mirror. Available at https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/more-half-irish-households-continue-26833561
Eakins, J., Power, B., Dunphy, N., & Sirr, G. (2022). Residential Solid Fuel Use in Ireland and the Transition Away from Solid Fuels. Wexford: Environmental Protection Agency.
2) Malakar, Y., Greig, C., & van de Fliert, E. (2018). Resistance in rejecting solid fuels: Beyond availability and adoption in the structural dominations of cooking practices in rural India. Energy Research & Social Science, 46, 225–235. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.07.025
Questions/comments