Delaying the coal phase-out puts Australia’s health at risk
Adopting nuclear instead of renewables relies on burning coal for another 25 years. Ongoing air pollution will cause even more preventable harm to human health across Australia:
3,000–10,000
premature deaths
3,500–9,800
premature births / low birthweight deliveries
14,000–214,000
asthma attacks in children and young people (aged 5-19)
This isn’t just about energy – it’s about our health.
The delay in phasing out coal is putting our health at risk – and costing lives. We can’t afford to keep coal burning.
Premature deaths due to air pollution from coal-fired power, 2025-2050
We need to prioritise renewable energy NOW.
❌ NO to nuclear power that prolongs coal for 25 years.
✅ YES to transitioning to renewable energy this decade.
Check out our campaign toolkit and share to help amplify this urgent message:
More resources:
CAHA's Communications Guide
Initial Estimates of Health Impacts of Delayed Phase-Out of Coal - Briefing note by Dr. Thomas Longden and Professor Martin Hensher
Nuclear in Australia - Too slow, too risky - Briefing note by Ben Munro
Come along to our Healthy Conversation on Wednesday, 26th March 6:30pm AEDT:
Register for free here
Join CAHA’s Healthy Conversation on 26th March at 6:30pm AEDT for an essential discussion on the health impacts of a nuclear future and the urgent need to end coal. A panel of experts – Dr Thomas Longden, Professor Martin Hensher, Dr Catherine Pendrey, and Ben Munro – will explore the health implications of a nuclear future, including how it could delay the phase-out of coal by another 25 years, putting our health at risk and costing lives.
Source: We used Farrow et al. (2020) estimates of air pollution health impacts from coal-fired power in Australia in 2018. Rates per GWh for three health indicators were calculated using 2018 output data (AEMO 2024). Future electricity production scenarios from AEMO (2024) and Frontier Economics (2024) were applied to estimate health impacts from declining coal generation in the AEMO Base “Step Change” scenario versus the delayed phase-out under the nuclear plan, calculating the likely number of additional and avoidable health harms from 2025 to 2050. Additional sources include the 'Assessing the Impact of a Nuclear Pathway on Australia’s Emissions' report by the Climate Change Authority. Banner image: freepik
We would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Thomas Longden and Professor Martin Hensher for their exemplary work in independently collating and processing the data.