Human cost of coal power: how coal-fired power plants threaten the health of Indonesians

Indonesia is at a critical crossroad and what the government decides in the next few months will determine, literally, the life or death of an estimated 28,300 Indonesians every year. For the first time, this report will give a detailed look at the level of morbidity and mortality associated with every coal-fired power plant in the Archipelago. This information has been produced just as the Energy Ministry considers how to fulfill an ambitious plan to build an additional 35 Gigawatts (GW) of new power plants. At this stage it appears 22,000 megawatts of this power would come from coal power plants and the calculation shows that it will create 21.200 deaths at stake, This report makes it clear there is a real choice to be made. Does the government meet the nation’s soaring energy requirement by building over a hundred new coal-fired power plants or is it time to fast track safer energy options.