PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC HARM

The report finds that private equity-backed fossil fuel facilities in the U.S. cause between $11.3 and $15.1 billion in annual human health damages, resulting in nearly 1,000 premature deaths and 1,500 emergency room visits per year. A small group of firms, specifically ArcLight, Energy Capital Partners, and Quantum Capital, are responsible for approximately 20% of these impacts. The General J.M. Gavin coal plant in Ohio is identified as the single most harmful facility, accounting for roughly 19% of all health impacts in the study. Regional analysis highlights disproportionate burdens in the Mid-Atlantic/New England area and the Permian Basin, with Texas ranking first in asthma onset and symptoms due to its large population and proximity to extraction sites.

• Private equity-backed fossil fuel infrastructure in the U.S. generates annual human health damages estimated between $11.3 billion and $15.1 billion, which equates to approximately $31–$41 million per day.
• These facilities are responsible for nearly 1,000 premature deaths and almost 1,500 emergency room visits annually, as well as over 250,000 lost school days and 27,000 lost work days.
• Three private equity firms—ArcLight, Energy Capital Partners (ECP), and Quantum Capital—are responsible for about 20% of the total health impacts. These three firms account for 64% of mortality, 52% of ER visits, 76% of work loss days, and 49% of school loss days.
• The General J.M. Gavin coal plant in southeastern Ohio is the most harmful facility in the study, causing an estimated $1.7 billion in annual human health impacts, representing about 19% of the study's total impacts.
• In the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, eight facilities across five firms cause $5.1 billion of the $5.6 billion in annual health impacts, or 91% of the total for that region.
• Texas is one of the most heavily impacted states, ranking first in asthma onset, asthma symptoms, and hay fever, and third in mortality, hospital admissions, and emergency room visits.
• In the Permian Basin, oil and gas extraction facilities are the primary source of harm, accounting for approximately $120 million of the $135 million (89%) in total human health damages across the basin's counties.

APA

Hurley, A. (2025). PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC HARM. Private Equity Climate Risks. https://peclimaterisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PECR_June_2025_Report.pdf

Chicago

Hurley, Alex. PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC HARM. Private Equity Climate Risks, 2025. https://peclimaterisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PECR_June_2025_Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hurley |first1=Alex |title=PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC HARM |publisher=Private Equity Climate Risks |date=June 2025 |url=https://peclimaterisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PECR_June_2025_Report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hurley2025private, author = {Hurley, Alex}, title = {{PRIVATE EQUITY, PUBLIC HARM}}, institution = {Private Equity Climate Risks}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://peclimaterisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PECR_June_2025_Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }