HEAL‘s Deputy Director, Anne Stauffer, discusses the health impacts of coal burning in Poland, and the current efforts being made to phase out usage:
Poland is the last country in the EU relying heavily on burning coal for power generation, and the only country where no phase out date has been set. Nearly 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) and thousands of tonnes of air pollutants are emitted each year in coal power generation. The country is also home to the largest and most polluting coal plant in the EU.
Polish coal power generation comes with a high health price, as coal combustion fuels climate change and air pollution. Air quality in Poland is one of the poorest compared to other EU member states, with approximately 45,000 people dying prematurely from air pollution annually. 33 of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe are in Poland.
The case study conducted as part of CATALYSE considers the role of health evidence and health engagement in public and policy deliberations on a coal phase out (for the years 2013 – 2023).
Policy context on the Polish coal phase out
Currently, Polish decision-makers have not set an official, legally binding date for phase out coal power generation. To date, Poland announced its intention to phase out mines by 2049. However, this does not mean that the country will stop using coal as one of its main energy sources, as it could still import coal – and it is what the Polish government was planning to do at the end of 2023. The respective governments of the past years have also been critical of the EU’s climate mitigation ambition.
The increased engagement of the health community
Civil society organisations have been increasingly engaged and active on climate mitigation and coal phase out. In 2002, the Polish Climate Coalition was founded, with the aim to advance the green transition. There are also local initiatives being taken, in Warsaw for instance, which aim at tackling smog locally, or in Krakow, which is where the Polish Smog Alert movement was born.
Health professionals have been increasingly engaged in addressing climate change and coal in relation to health. In 2011, over 500 health protection and crisis management specialists, including representatives of physicians’ associations, leading medical research institutions and public health organisations, appealed to the Polish government to end the construction of new coal-fired power plants that do not have carbon dioxide capturing and storing facilities, and to gradually close down the existing plants.
In 2013, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), a European not-for-profit organisaton working for better health through a healthier environment, opened an office in Poland. From the start, many Polish civil society representatives reached out to HEAL to better and further increase the health argument in the coal debates.
2020 then saw the first ever statement of the Polish health sector on climate, facilitated by HEAL. The statement describes the health threats from climate change and putting forward a set of recommendations for Polish policy-makers to better protect health through climate mitigation measures. The statement was signed by health experts, institutions and organisations such as the Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists, various Medical Universities (e.g. Warsaw, Lodz, Silesia), the Federation of Polish Patients, as well as representatives of Public Health institutes. Since then, an Expert Group composed of doctors and professors focusing on climate change and health, Doctors for Climate has held regular meetings, to raise awareness on the health impact of climate change, with a particular focus on air pollution.
The evidence of the health benefits of a swift coal phase-out
Through various assessments, the health (economic) benefits of phasing out coal are now available, based on the quantification of health impacts from burning fossil fuels. Air pollution from fossil fuel is found to be responsible for millions of premature deaths each year. In 2018, it is estimated that more than 8 million people died prematurely from fossil fuel pollution (approximately 1 in 5 deaths worldwide). Globally, phasing out coal would contribute to preventing over 14.5 million premature deaths from air pollution over the next thirty years, with an economic benefit of $16.3 trillion.
The health benefits of an early coal phaseout in Poland are also innumerable. According to a HEAL analysis, emissions from coal power plants alone are responsible for 288,499 years of life lost, mostly due to strokes, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Phasing out coal would thus greatly contribute to decreasing the number of deaths in Poland, as tighter air quality measures have proven to have immediate health benefits.
Among other aspects, phasing out coal would prevent 24,065 deaths due to PM2.5; 6,045 respiratory hospital admissions; 11,551 cardiovascular hospital admissions; 13,095 incidence of chronic bronchitis in adults; and 2,731 preterm births. Besides healthcare costs, an early coal phaseout would have very concrete benefits on workers and their productivity, as it would prevent the loss of 6,480,508 work days as well as 25,225,530 restricted activity days due to PM2.5.
Source: https://www.env-health.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/HEAL_CuringChronicCoal_Poland_Report.pdf
Furthermore, millions of euros would be saved if Poland chose to phase-out coal by 2030. Considering the many health impacts that would be saved, the total cumulative costs of all health impacts would be €31 billion if Poland phased-out coal by 2030, €46 billion by 2035, and €89 billion by 2049. €58 billion could be saved if Poland ended coal power generation by 2030 rather than 2049.
The health and in particular health economic arguments are therefore quite strong to support a coal phase-out in Poland by 2030. These arguments, in addition to a growing engagement of the health sector, should contribute to a decision made in that direction. However, the country is yet to take an actual decision.
