UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
Halting new coal in Southeast Asia could save 50,000 lives a year
Around 50,000 lives per year could be saved by 2030 if no new coal-fired power plants were built in Southeast Asia, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, according to a recently published study from Harvard University.
The study, co-written with Greenpeace International, says that air pollutants from power plants in these regions currently cause an estimated 20,000 excess deaths per year – and that this figure will increase to 70,000 if the coal-fired plants planned or under construction are built.
‘While air pollution in China and India has received a lot of scientific attention, the impacts of planned coal power expansion in the rest of the Southeast and East Asian region have been understudied,’ said Shannon Koplitz, lead researcher in the project from Harvard University.
The study, written by academics from the Harvard University Atmospheric Sciences Modelling Group, the Harvard School of Public Health and Greenpeace, maps out the current emissions from coal-fired power plants in the region, then uses an atmospheric model to determine how much of the regions’ air pollution levels are down to coal emissions. It says that if the proposed coal-fired power plants go ahead, emissions from coal will triple by 2030, and could exceed total coal emissions in the US and Europe. The largest increases would occur in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Southeast Asia is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Electricity demand in 2035 is projected to increase by 83% from 2011 levels, more than twice the global average. ‘Planned coal expansion in Southeast Asia is a particular concern because of these countries’ extremely weak emission standards for power plants. All countries in the region allow many times more pollution from new coal-fired power plants than China and India,’ said Lauri Myllyvirta, Senior Global Coal Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia.
Greenpeace is calling for the regions to ‘leapfrog’ new coal power and install more renewables to mitigate the problem.
News Item details
Journal title: Energy World
Subjects: Environmental protection, Electricity generation, Energy consumption, Coal, Coal fired power stations, Emissions, Air pollution
