- Asia-Pacific carbon emissions overall are predicted to increase by 85% in the next two decades. Already half of global mercury emissions come from fossil-fuel power plants in Asia.
- Mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants cause acid rain, which costs some $90 billion USD every year in the Asia Pacific region alone.
- A third of China is affected by acid rain, most of it from coal burning factories.
- Alarming research shows that 1in 6 women of childbearing age in the US may have blood mercury concentrations high enough to damage a developing foetus, according to the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).
- In the United States, 23,600 deaths a year are attributed to air pollution from power plants. Burning coal is also responsible for some 554,000 asthma attacks, 16,200 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 38,200 non-fatal heart attacks each year.
- Each second 700 tonnes of CO2 are spewed into the atmosphere from coal fired power plants
- To run a single 100-watt light bulb 24 hours a day for a year a coal fired power plant will produce around 840 kilograms (1852 pounds) of CO2.
Why coal causes so much environmental damage
Coal is the most carbon-rich of all fossil fuels. Burning coal generates 70% more carbon dioxide (CO2) than natural gas for every unit of energy produced. Coal is the sedimentary organic rock formed from vegetation that lived millions of years ago.
The most mature coal variety, anthracite - hard, black and lustrous - is nearly pure carbon, and has historically been regarded as useful to humans because of its high energy content. But dirty brown coal, or lignite, produces most CO2 per unit of energy.
The most mature coal variety, anthracite - hard, black and lustrous - is nearly pure carbon, and has historically been regarded as useful to humans because of its high energy content. But dirty brown coal, or lignite, produces most CO2 per unit of energy.
Above all, more than a third of all global electricity is generated from coal - it is the power sector's single biggest source of energy.
The biggest climate polluter is the global power sector, and it generates around 40% of all global electricity from coal. We need electricity - but when you take into account the true cost of coal there are much better ways to get it!
According to the International Energy Agency the power sector is responsible for 37% of all man-made Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. It creates about 23 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year – in excess of 700 tonnes a second.
In turn, this CO2 continues to heat up our planet and pose an unprecedented threat to us and the environment. Read more here on the impacts of climate change.
Generating electricity through the burning of fossil fuels, in particular carbon-heavy coal, has a greater impact on the atmosphere than any other single human activity.
Coal is the world's most widely available fossil fuel
Weaning humanity off coal will not be easy. There is an estimated 2 billion people with no access to domestic electricity, and recoverable reserves of coal exist in about 70 countries, according to the World Coal Institute, an industry lobby group (the largest are in the United States, Russia and China). It is considered a cheap form of energy.
But coal is not cheap - if you have to pay for it all
The true cost of coal cannot be found on any balance sheet, but in the lives and health of people and ecosystems. If the global power sector could be made fully accountable for the true costs of pollution and climate change, it would probably turn away from fossil fuel overnight.
Too many governments still subsidize coal production and this distorts the energy market. OECD countries support their coal industry with a whopping $30 billion USD annually.
Much cleaner renewable energies are hampered in their ability to compete with a dirty fuel that is subsidized. Politicians have the power to remove fossil-fuel subsidies or, better still, transfer them to renewable energy.
When the true cost is taken into account, renewable energy begins to look by far the best option for a healthy and sustainable future.
According to the International Energy Agency the power sector is responsible for 37% of all man-made Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. It creates about 23 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year – in excess of 700 tonnes a second.
In turn, this CO2 continues to heat up our planet and pose an unprecedented threat to us and the environment. Read more here on the impacts of climate change.
Generating electricity through the burning of fossil fuels, in particular carbon-heavy coal, has a greater impact on the atmosphere than any other single human activity.
Coal is the world's most widely available fossil fuel
Weaning humanity off coal will not be easy. There is an estimated 2 billion people with no access to domestic electricity, and recoverable reserves of coal exist in about 70 countries, according to the World Coal Institute, an industry lobby group (the largest are in the United States, Russia and China). It is considered a cheap form of energy.
But coal is not cheap - if you have to pay for it all
The true cost of coal cannot be found on any balance sheet, but in the lives and health of people and ecosystems. If the global power sector could be made fully accountable for the true costs of pollution and climate change, it would probably turn away from fossil fuel overnight.
Too many governments still subsidize coal production and this distorts the energy market. OECD countries support their coal industry with a whopping $30 billion USD annually.
Much cleaner renewable energies are hampered in their ability to compete with a dirty fuel that is subsidized. Politicians have the power to remove fossil-fuel subsidies or, better still, transfer them to renewable energy.
When the true cost is taken into account, renewable energy begins to look by far the best option for a healthy and sustainable future.
