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| Wed, 30th Oct 2019 12:08:00 |
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Switching to renewable energy is actually cost effective |
The price tag for addressing climate change is huge, and the debates over whether we can afford it can be distracting. But according to a new study, those discussions are also missing a big chunk of the puzzle: all the health benefits of switching to renewable energy.
Cutting back on air pollution improves the local population's health, which reduces the cost of healthcare. At the same time, energy companies are free to pollute the atmosphere with carbon with no penalty—an unaccounted-for cost. If we included those missing benefits and costs, investing in renewables suddenly looks a lot more appealing, according to a new analysis published Tuesday in Environmental Research Letters. And where you build those renewables can substantially affect the magnitude of the benefits.
Per unit of energy, coal power releases more pollutants and CO2 into the atmosphere than any other source. Coal plants release significant amounts of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter—all of which are known to cause health problems. Natural gas plants burn cleaner than coal, but they still emit plenty of CO2 and nitrogen oxides.
In the study, Buonocore and his team analyzed 10 major electrical grid regions across the United States. Using computer models, they estimated how reducing CO2 using wind, solar, or carbon capture could increase health benefits and reduce climate change impacts by region. To do this, they used estimates of the social cost of carbon, which is a way of putting a price tag on the climate impacts (such as droughts, sea level rise, and heat waves) that result from CO2 emissions. Their values ranged between $12 and $112 a ton.
In running those calculations, clear differences surfaced in regional benefits. According to the models, the greatest potential for health and climate benefits from renewables lies in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic regions (the study combined the two) of America.
Read original full article
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