China’s coal emissions have been pointed to as playing a role in a quarter of a million premature deaths in China in 2011 – and there is a strong Australian connection.
A study undertaken by an independent US researcher Andrew Gray for Greenpeace used modeling techniques based on the relationships between air pollution and risk of illness or death.
Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) earlier this year states air pollution has caused the loss of more than 2.5 billion years of life expectancy in China – which is the equivalent to cutting 5.5 years off the average life expectancy.
This isn’t just someone else’s problem – it’s Australia’s too. Part of the issue is that China has become Australia’s factory – producing the cheap goods we crave using energy generated by coal-fired power stations. There is also the issue of the provenance of the coal being used to create that electricity.
According to the Australian Coal Association, China is our second largest market for export coal; with 42.4 million tonnes in 2009-2010 – almost double the previous year.
Australia is a Typhoid Mary when it comes to coal. Brett Parris, Adjunct Research Fellow in Econometrics at Monash University, states in this article the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics forecasts Australia’s black coal exports during the 2013-14 financial will be 350 million tonnes (Mt).
Aside from the particulates and other toxins spewed during the burning of coal, the carbon dioxide legacy of Australian coal is also enormous.
“If our coal exports were to reach 1000 Mt by 2020, they would be producing around 2390 Mt of CO2 and up to A$370 billion in global damage each year,” says Mr. Parris.
“Australia should halt its plans to expand its coal production and exports – it enriches a few at the expense of millions and will inflict immense damage both on our own country and on the rest of the world.”
