Wood burners aren’t the most environmentally friendly choice for a stove. However, if you live in a rural area, new eco-burners are not too much of a concern.
The latest government data suggests that wood-burning stoves produce 17% of small particle pollution in our air, which given the current air quality crisis, is a problem.
However, despite the fact that burning wood gives off so much carbon dioxide, wood is a carbon-neutral energy source. This means that the amount of CO2 a tree absorbs during its lifetime is balanced by the amount of CO2 released when the wood is burned, so there’s effectively none added to the atmosphere.
Still, if you live in an urban area, there are not likely to be many trees around to absorb the CO2, which increases the air pollution, so you might be better choosing a gas or electric option instead.