‘Cosy winter nights spent around a real glowing fire are set to be consigned to the history books with a ban on the sale of wet wood and coal for domestic use to be announced on Friday.
Wet wood – the cheap fuel behind the explosion in the sale of wood burners to the middle classes in recent years – is one of the biggest causes of harmful air pollution.
Coal, which also contributes to harmful air pollution, has warmed hearth and home for centuries.
The sale of coal for domestic use will be banned by 2023 the government will announce, in its bid to combat air pollution.
Ministers will also pledge to phase out the sale of wet (or unseasoned) wood as well as coal from 2021 onwards, in a move they say will help clean up England’s air quality. Both products will be completely banned by February 2023. But responding to the plans, coal merchants insisted that households burning coal could see a 30-50 per cent rise in the annual fuel bill.’
Read more: Government to ban coal for domestic heating by 2023 to cut air pollution
