Turkey is planning to double its coal power capacity in four years, the third largest investment in the polluting fossil fuel in the world, health campaigners have warned. The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) today called on the European Union to promote sustainable development in Turkey and end lending for new coal projects, writes Euractiv.com.
Air pollution from existing coal plants already costs Turkey up to 3.6 billion euro per year in covering health costs caused by coal. That would be significantly increased by the new projects. The effects of coal air pollution exposure include premature death, chronic lung disease and heart conditions, the report, The Unpaid Health Bill – How coal power plants in Turkey make us sick, has found.
EU member state Poland is planning the tenth largest investment in coal in the world. Weak draft EU rules for coal plant emissions could result in 71,000 deaths and €52 billion of health costs across Europe in the decade to come, according to separate research published today in The Guardian.
The Turkish investment will also lock in hazardous emissions for more than 40 years, according to HEAL. CO2 emissions from coal contribute to climate change. Turkish government targets said electricity generation from domestic coal (lignite + hard coal) will be 60 billion kWh (60,000 MWh) until the end of 2019.
For 2014, electricity produced from domestic coal/lignite is 34,051 MWh. This is expected to increase to 60,000 MWh by 2019, almost double the generation in four years. Plans for 80 new plants will more than quadruple the number of coal-fired power plants from the 19 in 2012, when HEAL began its analysis.
Capacity will also be quadrupled, from the 22 coal plants that are currently in operation in the country, with a total installed capacity of 15.3 GW (15.367 MW), adding 65.4 GW, to reach 80.8 GW.
Dr.Bayazıt İlhan, president of the Central Council of Turkish Medical Association said, “A large coal-fired power plant emits several thousand tons of hazardous air pollutants every year and has an average lifetime of at least 40 years.
“The plans for a massive increase in investment would mean that coal’s contribution to respiratory and cardiovascular disease would continue for decades”, he added.
