
The Hambach open-pit mine, widely covered in the news in recent weeks, supplies a significant portion of the coal that is burned in the Niederaussem and Neurath power plants in Germany’s lignite mining area of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its harmful effects on the climate and local environment are well known. Recent analysis by NewClimate Institute has estimated the direct impacts on human health of burning the coal to generate electricity. The pollutants produced by the burning of Hambach coal alone contribute to roughly 320 premature deaths per year, caused for example by heart disease or stroke. Read More