This report estimates the health burden of air pollution from individual coal-fired power stations in NSW. It is significant new research made possible by recent studies of particle characterisation and atmospheric transport of pollution.

Market Forces, working with Vietnamese community organisations and other international NGOs, has found that equator principles (EP) signatory banks are violating those principles in their involvement in syndicates funding five Vietnamese coal-fired power stations. In doing so, they are failing the people that the principles seek to protect.

This report summarises key findings from case studies in six countries (China, India, Poland, Germany, Australia and South Africa), exploring pathways to implement coal transitions.

Coal production in Australia is likely to be on a long-term declining trajectory. Export demand is a function of economic, technological and policy developments in other countries, all of which point to the likelihood of falling coal use over time, especially for steam coal.

Australia’s ageing coal power stations are unreliable and prone to breaking down in extreme weather events. There is no such thing as clean coal. No matter how “efficient” a coal-fired power station claims to be, it is always polluting. Australia must transition to clean, affordable and reliable renewables and storage.