According to a study published in Nature Sustainability, the closure of more than 330 coal-fired power plants over ten years and the shift to gas for electricity generation avoided the emission of 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
That coal causes deaths from pollution is now an established fact, but the awareness grows when you put numbers to it. According to a study by the University of California published in Nature Sustainability, the shift from coal to gas for electricity generation over a decade saved more than 26,000 lives in the United States.
Due to a glut of cheap natural gas that rendered coal uncompetitive, between 2005 and 2016 in the United States 334 coal plants went out of production, against 612 gas-fired units that were brought online during the same span of years.
The closure of the coal plants reduced the quantity of pollutants emitted and, as a result, deaths from associated health problems also fell — such as heart disease and respiratory problems among residents living in communities near the plants. The study estimates that 26,610 human lives were saved in the United States thanks to the abandonment of coal over the decade analysed.
With the closure of the coal plants, more than 300 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were saved, while levels of nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide — emitted by coal plants and a cause of nose and throat irritation — fell by 60 per cent and 80 per cent respectively.
"When you shut down coal units you see deaths decrease. It's something we can see in a tangible way," said Jennifer Burney of the University of California and author of the study. "There is a cost to coal that goes beyond economics. We need to think carefully about where plants are located and how to reduce the pollutants they emit."
The research highlights how the natural gas that is replacing coal is not harmless either. Gas is, like coal, a fossil fuel, and its production involves the release of large quantities of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Numerous studies demonstrate that both coal and gas will need to be rapidly replaced by zero-carbon alternatives, such as solar and wind, if we are to avoid exceeding 2°C of temperature rise.
The Trump administration, despite the evidence, continues to support the United States coal industry and has withdrawn the emissions containment standards introduced during the Obama presidency to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants.
According to Rob Jackson, a climate and environment expert at Stanford University, "lowering emissions standards will not only harm the climate, but will kill people, especially the poorest, who are more likely to live near coal-fired power plants."