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Social and economic costs and benefits of coal

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posted on 2024-10-29, 05:40 authored by Galina WilliamsGalina Williams
Coal has been a cornerstone of economic development, contributing to social progress and quality of life around the world. Reliability, affordability, and availability of coal resulted in its wide adoption as an energy source in developed and developing countries. Recently, environmental issues including climate change attracted an international attention and put a downward pressure on coal expansion. However, challenges of reducing energy poverty as well as rising demand for energy warrant coal’s use as a part of energy mix. In some cases, coal might still be the cheapest and most available source of energy even when negative externalities are taken into consideration. Employment, higher than average income, and royalties are important for the economies of countries relying on coal. Although concerns about air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are legitimate, emissions reduction should be done in the least cost manner to maximise the net benefits to society. The case-by-case socio-environmental-economic impact analysis of coal mining projects ensures that only projects with positive net social benefits are chosen to proceed. With ever rising energy demand coal is likely to continue to be significant source of energy while expanded implementation of clean coal technologies will help to reduce emissions.

History

Editor

Osborne D

Volume

2

Start Page

3

End Page

29

Number of Pages

28

ISBN-10

0128243279

ISBN-13

9780323984416

Publisher

Woodhead Publishing

Place of Publication

Cambridge, MA

Open Access

  • No

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Chapter Number

1

Edition

2nd

Parent Title

The Coal Handbook: Towards Cleaner Production