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Killed by coal: Air pollution deaths in Jakarta ‘may double’ by 2030
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The five chimney stacks of the 4,025 MW Suralaya coal-fired power plant, one of the largest of its kind in Indonesia, tower above Cilegon city in Banten province on Sept. 24, 2019. (JP/Norman Harsono)
T
he number of premature deaths attributed to air pollution from coal-fired power plants in Jakarta could double by 2030, a new study shows.
A report published by the C40 Cities network ranks Jakarta among the top three of 61 cities observed worldwide for premature deaths related to such pollution, with more than 1,500 deaths blamed on coal power in 2019. That number is projected to double to more than 3,000 based on new plants expected to be fired up by 2030.
The other cities singled out as suffering most under pollution from coal-fired power plants are Calcutta in India and Johannesburg in South Africa, which saw over 2,000 and over 2,500 premature deaths in 2019, respectively.
The report shows that existing coal policies and proposed expansion plans may result in 264,900 premature deaths by 2030, costing cities worldwide US$877 billion over the current decade.
“The impact of air pollution on urban health has economic consequences through associated healthcare costs and the economic losses from disability and premature death,” reads the report, which was published in September.
C40 modeling is based on two future scenarios: The “1.5 degrees Celsius” scenario, which is based on a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction in line with the Paris Agreement, and the “current coal plans” scenario, which represents the current trajectory and projects the future considering currently operating coal-fired power plants, new plants in the pipeline and scheduled retirement up to 2050.
The current coal plans scenario is based on the coal-fired power plants data compiled by San Francisco-based Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
