Wood-burning stoves face new restrictions – but a loophole from Britain’s smog years is fuelling the problem

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Wood-burning stoves are booming in the UK, a cosy response to high energy prices and cost of living pressures. But this comes with a hidden cost.

So-called domestic burning is now a leading source of one of the most harmful forms of air pollution, and the UK government’s new environment improvement plan acknowledges the scale of this problem. Yet the tools the UK relies on to control stove emissions were built for a different era – and may not be up to the job.