Getting rid of coal power and switching to cleaner sources like wind and solar energy is a big way for governments all around the world to fight climate change and protect the environment. These clean energy technologies have become big enough to replace a lot of the energy we get from coal power plants. Plus, scientists are working hard to figure out how to store energy from these sources when we need it, even if the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. So, switching to green energy seems more possible than ever.

But for this to happen, people in countries that depend on coal power need to push for it. In the United States and Western Europe, many coal power plants are scheduled to shut down because people there are realizing how bad coal is for the environment. However, in countries like India and China, they’re still investing a lot in coal power, even though it’s really bad for the air and the planet. The problem is, not everyone who lives near a coal power plant understands how harmful it is. And if people don’t know, it’s less likely that politicians will take action to change things.

Making the change

Research from LSE explores whether our perceptions of air quality are influenced by our proximity to coal-fired power stations. The researchers use data from the Gallup World Poll, a yearly survey that asks people all over the world how they feel about the air quality where they live. This survey covers folks in over 160 countries. The researchers focus on looking at the effects in specific local areas by using detailed location information, like the exact coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the people who answer the survey.

The researchers used data to figure out how much people are willing to pay to shut down coal power plants in 51 different countries. They did this by looking at how happy people are with their lives and how unhappy they are with air pollution. This helped them estimate how much people would spend to have cleaner air. They found that the benefits of switching to cleaner energy sources like solar and wind, mainly in terms of better air quality, were big enough to justify making the switch from coal.

Their research also showed that people who live near coal power plants are usually less happy with the air quality. This suggests that there’s a hidden demand for policies that improve air quality.

Clean transition

To estimate how much people are willing to pay for cleaner air, the researchers used a formula that considers people’s well-being (how happy they are), their income, and their dissatisfaction with air quality. This helped them see if transitioning from coal to clean energy was a good idea. Even when they were very careful with their estimates, the transition seemed like a good choice. They also looked at these numbers for different countries and education levels.

When they compared willingness to pay across education levels, they found that highly educated people were the most willing to pay, about two to three times more than others. Looking at different places, they found that, on average, people in India cared less about air quality. This makes sense because India is a middle-income country where people usually care more about their income than the quality of the air they breathe.

In the end, policymakers will have to decide which coal power plants to shut down to make the switch to cleaner energy.