Hidden costs

Electricity made from coal and oil would be twice as expensive if we took
into account damage to health and the environment. A 10-year study by the
European Union into the hidden costs of power production estimated the impact of
pollution on factors such as crop yield and health. You could recoup
environmental costs by taxing damaging fuels, says Domenico Rosetti, the study’s
scientific officer. “Another solution is to give incentives to the cleaner
fuels.”