A group of doctors is urging the government to increase taxes on big polluters and work to shut down coal-fired power stations for health reasons.
Air pollution kills more people than car crashes, John van der Kallen, from Doctors for the Environment, will tell a Senate inquiry into the closure of coal plants.
"All my patients are affected by pollution. The air quality affects their respiratory function and it also increases their risk of heart disease," the Newcastle-based rheumatologist told ABC radio on Wednesday.
Dr van der Kallen said coal-fired power stations were responsible for about 50 per cent of sulphur emissions and 20 per cent of particles.
There could be 65 fewer premature deaths each year if particle emissions were cut by 20 per cent in the Sydney area.
He wants coal-fired power stations in NSW to pay a higher air pollution fee to better reflect a true cost of health impacts before ultimately being wound down.
"Any emissions is going to be a problem so ideally we would have zero emissions on these," Dr van der Kallen said.
"That's obviously not going to happen overnight, so the economics has to be set up so those who are polluting pay for their pollution and pay for the health effects caused by that pollution."
An air pollution fee has been in place in NSW for 15 years but the levy represents less than one per cent of the total rate charged for electricity.
"For the amount that is given, it doesn't cover the health costs at all."
Dr van der Kallen flatly rejected the notion of "clean coal" and doubted the mooted benefits of carbon capture and storage.
"Clean coal doesn't exist. You can make it more efficient, maybe, but there is always going to be emissions," he said.
"No one has really successfully stored carbon in this kind of way."
Share
