False – the statement is untrue, there is no evidence to support it, the author is lying or unintentionally sharing misleading information.
In the middle of the week, claims appeared on social media that under the influence of the Green Deal the government will ban the use of wood, pellets and briquettes for heating private homes. This is not true – there are no such plans. The false claims were spread on the internet by Tālis Linkaits, the former Minister for Transport and now a candidate for the European Parliament from the New Conservative Party (Jaunā konservatīvā partija), and a number of politicians from the Latvia First party (Latvija pirmajā vietā).
On Thursday, 25 April, the Parliament (Saeima) considered amendments to the Energy Law in its second reading, which will change the ways in which renovated single-dwelling houses and new buildings will be allowed to be heated in the future. The amendments state that heating must use renewable energy sources or emission-free heating technology. Wood, briquettes and pellets are biomass, which is a renewable energy source under both the Energy Law and the Renewable Energy Directive. So households will be allowed to continue using wood fuel. This is also confirmed by the Ministry of Climate Action and Energy in a statement sent to the media.
A Twitter user presented the amendments as a ban on pellet heating. The post was reposted by Linkaits, who spoke not only about banning pellets, but also wood and briquettes, and blamed it on the European Green Deal:
“The Green Deal is right around the corner: the plan is to ban heating with wood, briquettes and pellets.”
Source: Screenshot from X (formerly known as Twitter).
Linkaits’ post was uncritically retold by the website LA.lv, which published an article with Linkaits’ statement as its headline – that wood, briquette and pellet heating will be banned under the Green Deal. Later, the medium added a comment from the Ministry of Climate and Energy, turning the headline statement into a question.
Source: Facebook and Twitter screenshots.
However, a screenshot of the originally published headline had already been shared by the opposition party Latvia First. The LA.lv article was republished on social media by the leader of the Latvia First party and MP Ainārs Šlesers, who added:
“The EU plans to ban the use of firewood, briquettes and pellets for heating in Latvia! So, in Latvia, where 50% of its territory is covered by forests, the EU wants to ban even the use of firewood for heating! I believe that the GREEN course could lead Latvia to bankruptcy!”
The message was published and Šleser’s post was shared by several party members, including MPs and candidates for the European Parliament elections.
Source: screenshots from Facebook and Twitter.
When Re:Check asked Linkaits why he had not checked the information before commenting on it, he replied that he had relied on statements by experts and the information available on the Saeima website. However, as noted above, the draft amendments available on the Saeima website do not provide for any such information. Ainārs Šlesers did not reply to our email.
Conclusion: the amendments to the Energy Law will not prohibit the use of wood, pellets and briquettes for the heating of single-dwelling houses. All three wood fuels are biomass, which is considered a renewable energy resource.
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