Health costs associated with air pollution

Health costs associated with air pollution

By the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)

Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) has launched a major new report which provides the first even economic assessment of the health costs associated with air pollution from coal power plants in Europe.
The report is published under the title "The unpaid health bill - How coal power plants make us sick" , leading to an additional financial burden to the European population of up to € 42.8 billon a year.

The study aims to provide an overview of the scientific evidence of how air pollution impacts health and how emissions from coal power plants are implicated in this. It presents the first-ever economic assessment of the health costs associated with air pollution from coal power plants in Europe as well as testimonies from leading health advocates, medical experts and policy makers on why they are concerned about coal.
The report develops recommendations for policy-makers and the health community on how to address the unpaid health bill and ensure that it is taken into account in future energy decisions.

"Addressing air pollution from coal power plants alone has the potential to yield significant savings to health budgets, especially given that an average coal power plant operates for at least forty years. As 2013 is the European Year of Air where a review of EU air quality policy will take place, this is the right time to act", says Prof Jean-Paul Sculier, Secretary for European Affairs, European Respiratory Society (ERS), and author of the Preface. You can download the full report here.