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The UN Environment Program and World Meteorological Organization
(UNEP/WMO) recommends phasing out log-burning stoves in developed
countries as part of a package of 16 measures to reduce the global
temperature increase by 0.4-0.5 degrees in over the next 20 to 30
years and buy time to implement the measures needed to create a
carbon-neutral planet - see http://woodsmoke.3sc.net/greenhouse  
The Sierra Club supports this action: -
http://theyodeler.org/?p=10428

Over the critical period between now and when the global
temperature rise is expected to exceed 2 degrees centigrade,
emissions of methane, black carbon, carbon monoxide and ozone
precursors from house with a wood stove (even an EPA-certified
stove) will cause cause more global warming than several houses
using non-polluting heating, such as an efficient electric heat
pump - http://woodsmoke.3sc.net/ghg 

CARB's concept paper notes that: 
"ARB and local air districts have developed programs to comply with
federal air quality standards for PM. These include mandatory and
voluntary rules to restrict residential wood-burning in fireplaces
and wood stoves, as well as incentive programs to switch to cleaner
burning devices" 
and "the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is considering a
new rule to ban all wood burning devices in new construction and
restrict the sale of buildings with old fireplaces, stoves or other
wood-burning devices that fail to meet United States Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) emission standards."  

Unfortunately, real-life PM2.5 and methane emissions from new wood
stoves are only marginally less than from uncertified stoves.  The
estimated health costs of using a new wood stove in urban areas
amount to several thousand dollars per year, far more than any
possible benefits to the owner.  This is on top of damaging the
climate.

It is therefore vitally important that wood stove replacement
programs support the UNEP/WMO recommendation to phase out all
log-burning stoves.  No subsidies should be available to replace
old wood stoves with new log-burning stoves and subsidies should
also be made available to replace EPA-certified wood stoves with
non-polluting heating. Restrictions on the sale of buildings should
apply to all buildings with a log-burning stove, irrespective of
EPA-certification.