Comment on coal phase-out plans
Government plans to close coal power stations in the UK 'really significant', says Richard Black
By George Smeeton
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The announcement today of Government plans to close coal power stations in the UK were hailed as a commitment to climate leadership and to saving lives and money by Hugh Montgomery, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine and Director of the Institute for Human Health and Performance at University College London.
"The recent Lancet Commission report on climate change and health highlighted the major impact that coal use has in both damaging people’s health directly and in causing climate change, which itself is major global health risk," he said.
“In the UK alone, coal pollution is estimated to be responsible for about 1,600 premature deaths each year. It also contributes to respiratory and circulatory illnesses such as asthma and heart attacks, at an estimated annual cost to the UK of between £1.1 billion and £3.1 billion.
“The Government’s move is therefore not only a commitment to climate leadership, it is also a commitment to saving lives and money, and as such is to be applauded.”
However, Michael Grubb, Professor of International Energy and Climate Change Policy at UCL warned of over-reliance on payments for gas generation.
“The real risk appears to be of the government getting panicked into paying for more gas capacity than the system actually needs – a cost borne by consumers –whilst scaling back on the cheapest option, which would be strengthen energy efficiency policies,” he said.
Richard Black, Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), highlighted the global significance of the move.
"In the global context, this is a really significant moment: the nation that first grew rich on coal deciding that the costs of the most polluting fossil fuel now outweigh the benefits," he said.
“Phasing out coal will save lives in the UK by reducing air pollution and help keep the lights on by incentivising building of new, more reliable generators.
“Globally, it is the latest signal that governments are catching up with markets in regarding coal as an obsolete technology.”