The government adopted new regulations at the beginning of this year that govern the procedure for calculating emissions and, consequently, the calculation of the natural resources tax to be paid. These apply to small boiler houses, which are primarily fuelled by wood chips. Latvia is full of them – approximately 1,500. One of the most important principles of environmental legal protection is: the polluter pays. However, a polluter should not have to pay for pollution that is not created. Unlike coal, burning wood does not produce sulphur dioxide emissions. Yet, in the flawed regulations, all solid fuel is lumped into the same bag or furnace, and wood has been equated to coal and fuel oil in terms of harmfulness.