Press Release: New research reveals the real costs of electricity in Europe

A major EU funded research study undertaken over the past 10 years has proven that the cost of producing electricity from coal or oil would double and the cost of electricity production from gas would increase by 30% if external costs such as damage to the environment and to health were taken into account. It is estimated that these costs amount up to 1-2 % of the EU's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), not including the cost of global warming. They have to be covered by society at large, since they are not included in the bills which electricity consumers pay. The EXTERNE project, which was undertaken by researchers from all EU Member States and the United States of America, was designed to quantify these socio-environmental costs of electricity production. It is the first research project ever to put plausible financial figures against damages resulting from different forms of electricity production (fossil, nuclear and renewable) for the entire EU.