The suggestion that Fife’s Longannet coal-fired power plant is a top
polluter is not new.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) declared in October that
it was one of the top two sources of carbon emissions in the country.
The argument put forward by the Brussels-based Health and Environment
Alliance (Heal) is a little more nuanced. Its latest briefing looks at the
health impact of burning fossil fuels across the UK.
It highlights Longannet and the Drax power station in North Yorkshire as
having a major impact on the health of the nation at large and, in
particular, on neighbouring communities.
By “belching out” thousands of tonnes of pollutants, including carbon
dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates, Heal claims, the two plants are
costing the NHS, in what it argues is an indirect subsidy to the industry.
Such pollution has a direct cost in terms of lives lost to and medical
treatment for heart and respiratory conditions.
It has a more indirect cost in terms of quality of life: a need for more
treatment for asthma sufferers, for instance, and restrictions on those
affected in terms of ability to work or to simply leave the house. Elderly
people and children are most likely to be affected, the briefing says.
The report cites figures showing that the overall health cost from
Longannet alone is estimated at a rather vague £310 million to £858m a year.
There is undoubtedly some truth in all of this. However, the coal industry
has been quick to dispute the findings, claiming Heal is unaccountable and
little more than a front for the green lobby. ScottishPower also insists
that Longannet complies with emissions standards that are some of the
toughest in Europe.
That does not diminish the power of Heal’s argument.
But if we are to measure the health impact of fossil fuels we should be
balanced. There are health risks on both sides.
Since the closure of Cockenzie Power Station, Longannet has been
responsible for generating around one-quarter of all electricity used in
Scotland. It provides hundreds of jobs directly on site, and ScottishPower
argues it supports hundreds more in the wider community.
If it were to close, as some would prefer, there would be an inevitable
impact on electricity prices. Fuel poverty also has a direct health cost.
Unemployment, as parts of Scotland know too well, has a significant impact
upon health, so losing those jobs would be costly for the NHS too.
We need balance in our energy policy, and a rational mix of sources,
including renewable energies and nuclear.
The central argument of the report is hard to disagree with, however. The
role of coal power generation in accelerating climate change means that
Europe ultimately needs to phase it out, it states.
We cannot go on ignoring warnings about climate change, and we must cut our
dependence on fossil fuels. And until we can do so it is sensible to do all
we can to cut the emissions from them.
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