Coal phaseout is a ‘no-regret’ plan for tackling climate change
A recent study, published in Nature Climate Change analyses the implications of a coal phaseout on the economy and the climate, but also on the environment and public health. For this study, the authors use the integrated assessment model “REMIND” combined with a life-cycle based approach. This allows them to weigh up the environmental and public-health benefits of phasing out coal against the economic cost, which includes GDP loss and higher energy system investment cost. Their findings suggest that, even when only accounting for domestic environmental effects and neglecting the global benefits from slowing climate change, the benefits of phasing out coal outweigh the economic costs. In this way, coal phaseout should be considered as a “no-regret” policy option.
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