Analysis of the co-benefits of climate change mitigation and air pollution reduction in China

Legislation to cap and trade greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was approved by a 219-212 vote of the United States House of Representatives on June 26, 2009. Cap and trade policy articulated in the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) act of 2009 regulates GHGs including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and nitrogen trifluoride. Debate over the ACES act focused heavily on economic issues contrasted against concerns about climate change1. However, discussion largely ignored the potential for cap and trade legislation to contribute to reductions in levels of other harmful air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and ozone precursors that share emission sources with GHGs. Under the bill, domestic GHG emissions are to be capped at 2005 annual levels, and reduced to 17% of those marks by 20502. The bill provides for an initial round of pollution permits to be made available, some free, others at auction. Subsequently, these permits can be bought and sold in the open market by organizations such as utility companies and manufacturing firms. A key provision in the ACES act requires the president to impose tariffs on countries that do not implement similar regulations on GHG emissions. While other potentially viable legislation, such as a tax on carbon emissions, has been proposed3, the current cap and trade legislation is the first bill to pass in either the House or Senate. The greenhouse gases regulated under the ACES act do not generally pose serious direct health risks. For example, nitrous oxide is used in dental procedures, and carbon dioxide is an ingredient in carbonated beverages. Other GHGs, like nitrogen trifluoride and sulfur hexafluoride, are not harmful at their current concentration levels, but can be hazardous to persons working with them if safety precautions are not taken. Instead, substantial human health benefits from cap and trade legislation could potentially come from reductions in ambient levels of harmful pollutants, such as particulate matter and ozone, that share emissions sources with GHGs. For example, 94% of CO2 emissions in the US result from combustion of fossil fuels, with electricity generation and transportation alone comprising nearly 70%. These are also the leading source of sulfur dioxide, fine particles having diameter small than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), and precursors to ozone such as mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx)4. While the time scale for potential impacts of cap and trade legislation on climate change and related health benefits is likely decades or centuries, ancillary air pollution mitigation could have immediate health benefits. In two nationwide epidemiological studies, daily levels of ambient ozone and PM2.5 have been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality5 and to increased risk of emergency hospital admissions, especially for heart failure6, respectively. Estimates of the potential health benefits attributable to reductions in harmful air pollutants resulting from mitigation of GHG emissions, at the city, region and national, have been substantial7. While US cap and trade legislation would likely reduce domestic air pollution levels, two caveats deserve consideration. First, methods for reducing GHG emissions typically reduce air pollution levels, but not always. This problem can be highlighted using airplanes as an example8. Two methods to reduce CO2 emissions from airplanes are to decrease aircraft weight or increase engine combustion temperatures. The former reduces both GHG and air pollution emissions, whereas the later reduces GHG emissions at the cost of increasing precursors to ozone. In the broader context of energy production, it is likely cap and trade legislation would drive a shift away from fossil fuel combustion to sources such as solar technology that produce much less air pollution. However, the exact technology development path is still uncertain. A second problem is the potential for domestic cap and trade legislation to transfer US emissions to newly industrialized nations. Countries facing lower production costs associated with looser regulations on GHG emissions would have an economic advantage over manufacturing industries in the US. However, increased air pollution from new manufacturing could be a key public health issue for developing regions, such as China's Pearl River delta, where air pollution levels are already much higher than standards in the US9. The economic and physical systems that would be affected by cap and trade legislation are extremely complex, and impacts on air pollution will have to be considered in a broad context. For example, while the absence of tariffs would likely push manufacturing, air pollution and related negative health effects to developing regions, those regions might experience health benefits associated with increased per capita income. The discussion is similarly complex in the physical domain. For example, some air pollutants, such as sulfate particulate matter, can contribute to short term climate cooling. Though still somewhat unclear, there is an emerging debate over the possibility that air pollution mitigation could actually exacerbate global warming in the short term10. While it faces potentially significant opposition and alteration in the Senate, the cap and trade bill recently passed in the House has progressed further through Congress than any other similar legislation. There is tremendous potential for legislation regulating GHG emissions, via cap and trade or other strategies, to simultaneously decrease emissions of harmful air pollutants and reduce morbidity and mortality attributable to cardiovascular and respiratory illness. Such improvements in public health have been linked to economic benefits from recovered workforce productivity8, and add important support for progress on cap and trade legislation versus delayed action.

PurposeThe purpose of this investigation is the dynamic modelling of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollution emissions, to identify technology and policy options for reducing GHG and air pollution, and to explain how these options might affect the different variables of mobile source emission systems in Kosovo.Design/methodology/approachFor modelling impacts of the technology and policy options for reducing GHG and air pollution, the model STELLA software has been used. The annual total emission for air pollutants (CO, NOx, CHx, SO2 and dust) and GHG (CO2) from the year 2000 up to 2025 is calculated. 2000 is taken as the base year for emission. Initial data value for vehicle population is taken from MEM and from World Bank ESTAP Project for Kosovo. Projection for the total number of vehicles in Kosovo is calculated with the WB Atlas Method, while the projection for emission factors and total annual emission for Air Pollutants and GHG (CO2) are calculated with US EPA methodology.FindingsFrom the results obtained using this model, the variables that drive GHG and air pollutant emissions and reduction in transport are identified. This model, predicts high emission of air pollutions and GHG in the short term from 2000 to 2010. After 2015, due to implementing the emission reduction policies and introducing new technologies in transportation, a continual reduction in air pollution will take place, whereas the CO2 output up to 2025 will be reduced by 25 percent in comparison with the emission values of 2007.Originality/valueModels presented here are the first, together with original data and results, with the predictions which are regional, but accepted globally. This work is original, since no such analysis has been carried out about mobile source emission systems in Kosovo. The paper provides data and results on which further research could be carried out.

For all its cachet, you might think that hybrid drivetrain technology is inherently green. But only 13 of 34 hybrid vehicles assessed achieve better than a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and just 3 exceed a 40% reduction, according to an evaluation by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).1 Moreover, reductions in GHG emissions do not necessarily correlate with reductions in other toxic emissions. Like any engine output–improving technology, hybrid technology can boost both fuel efficiency and power—but the more you boost one, the less you can boost the other. That dichotomy spurred the UCS to develop its “hybrid scorecard,” which rates each hybrid according to how well it lives up to its promise of reducing air pollution.2 All the vehicles were from model year 2011 except for one, the 2012 Infiniti M Hybrid. First the UCS scored each hybrid on how much it reduced its GHG emissions relative to its conventional counterpart, on a scale of zero (least reduction) to 10 (greatest reduction). These scores reflect the percentage in fuel efficiency gain. For example, the Toyota Prius gets 50 mpg3 compared with 28 mpg for the comparable Toyota Matrix. This represents a 44.0% reduction in GHG emissions, earning the Prius a GHG score of 9.4. At the bottom of the scale, the 21-mpg hybrid VW Touareg reduces GHG emissions only 10% over the 19-mpg conventional Toureg, for a score of 0.0. With a 46% improvement, the luxury Lincoln MKZ Hybrid had the greatest reduction over its conventional counterpart. The UCS also scored hybrids for absolute emissions (rather than relative to the conventional model) of air pollutants including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. These scores, on a scale of zero (dirtiest) to 10 (cleanest), are based on California certifications for tailpipe emissions. As the scorecard showed, a vehicle that emits less heat-trapping gases may not necessarily emit less of other air pollutants. For example, the Mercedes Benz S400 Hybrid scored 9 on air pollution reduction, alongside the Prius and the Lincoln MKZ, but only 1.3 on GHG emissions. HYBRID SCORECARD: Top 10 Nonluxury Hybrids by Total Environmental Improvement Score “Hybrid technology doesn’t add additional challenges [to reducing exhaust pollutants] that can’t be addressed through design of the vehicle’s emission controls,” says Don Anair, senior vehicles analyst at the UCS. “Numerous manufacturers of hybrids are meeting the lowest emissions levels. Hybrid manufacturers who aren’t delivering the lowest smog-forming emissions have chosen not to do so.” Each vehicle’s air pollution and GHG scores were averaged into a total “environmental improvement score,” again with the MKZ and the Prius leading the pack, and the Touareg scraping bottom. The UCS also scored “hybrid value” (the cost of reducing GHG emissions in dollars per percent reduction) and “forced features” (options you must buy with the hybrid whether you want them or not). HYBRID SCORECARD: Top 10 Luxury Hybrids by Total Environmental Improvement Score Luke Tonachel, vehicles analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, compliments the scorecard for illustrating that hybrid technology is not automatically green. He says, “We should improve the efficiency of all vehicles, and [hybrid technology] is just one technology that can get us there if applied with that goal in mind.” Nonetheless, Jamie Kitman, the New York bureau chief for Automobile Magazine, questions the wisdom of emphasizing percentage improvement in gas mileage rather than absolute miles per gallon. At 21 mpg, the hybrid Cadillac Escalade 4WD represents a 29% improvement over the 15-mpg conventional model, saving nearly 2 gallons per 100 miles. But the hybrid Escalade is still a gas guzzler, and Kitman says he wishes people would see through the marketing that encourages them to buy SUVs and “crossovers” rather than ordinary cars, which are more efficient than either. Says Anair, “The scorecard shows that automakers can pair hybrid technology with advanced emission controls to help tackle climate change while reducing the health impacts from breathing polluted air.” However, he adds, alluding to the stark variation in how much hybrid technology boosted fuel efficiency, “Not all automakers are delivering on the full promise of this technology.”

Analysis of the air pollution reduction and climate change mitigation effects of the Three-Year Action Plan for Blue Skies on the “2+26” Cities in China

Addressing climate change and improving air quality are prominent tasks facing China’s ecological environment. The synergistic emission reduction in greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants has become an important task of environmental governance in different provinces. In this study, Hebei Province was taken as the research object. Firstly, the emission factors of GHGs (CO2, CH4, and NO2) and air pollutants (SO2, NOX, and smoke & dust) in Hebei Province from 2011 to 2020 were calculated and analyzed. Seven socio-economic indicators were selected to analyze the trend during the study period. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient method was used to analyze the correlation between GHG and air pollutant emissions. Finally, the synergistic control effect coordinate system and the cross-elasticity coefficient of emission reduction were used to study the synergistic emission reduction effect of GHGs and air pollutants. The results showed that the total amount of GHG emissions fluctuated slightly from 2011 to 2020, and energy activities were the main source of total GHG emissions. The total emissions of air pollutants decreased year by year, and decreased by 71.13% in 2020 compared with 2011. During the study period, the emission synergy between smoke & dust and GHG was better than that between SO2, NOX, and GHG. GHG and SO2, NOX, and smoke & dust achieved synergistic emission reduction in most years, but the overall emission reduction synergy was poor.

In this study, we selected the production processes and main products of three typical chemical enterprises in Shanghai, namely SH Petrochemical (part of the oil-refining sector), SK Ethylene, and HS Chlor-Alkali, to quantitatively assess the synergistic effects across technology, policy, and emission mechanisms. The localized air pollutant levels and greenhouse gas emissions of the three enterprises were calculated. The synergistic effects between the end-of-pipe emission reductions for air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions were analyzed using the pollutant reduction synergistic and cross-elasticity coefficients, including technology comparisons (e.g., acrylonitrile gas incineration (AOGI) technology vs. traditional flare). Based on these data, we used the SimaPro software and the CML-IA model to conduct a life cycle environmental impact assessment regarding the production and upstream processes of their unit products. By combining the life cycle method and the scenario simulation method, we predicted the trends in the environmental impacts of the three chemical enterprises after the implementation of low-carbon development policies in the chemical industry in 2030. We also quantified the synergistic effects of localized air pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions within the low-carbon development scenario by using cross-elasticity coefficients based on life cycle environmental impacts. The research results show that, for every ton of air pollutant reduced through end-of-pipe treatment measures, the HS Chlor-Alkali enterprise would increase its maximum CO2 emissions, amounting to about 80 tons. For SK Ethylene, the synergistic coefficient for VOC reduction and CO2 emissions when using AOGI thermal incineration technology is superior to that for traditional flare thermal incineration. The activities of the three enterprises had an impact on several environmental indicators, particularly the fossil fuel resource depletion potential, accounting for 69.48%, 53.94%, and 34.23% of their total environmental impact loads, respectively. The scenario simulations indicate that, in a low-carbon development scenario, the overall environmental impact loads of SH Petrochemical (refining sector), SK Ethylene, and HS Chlor-Alkali would decrease by 3~5%. This result suggests that optimizing the upstream power structure, using “green hydrogen” instead of “grey hydrogen” in hydrogenation units within refining enterprises, and reducing the consumption of electricity and steam in the production processes of ethylene and chlor-alkali are effective measures in reducing carbon emissions in the chemical industry. The quantification of the synergies based on life cycle environmental impacts revealed that there are relatively strong synergies for air pollutant and GHG emission reductions in the oil-refining industry, while the chlor-alkali industry has the weakest synergies.

With increases in the economy and standards of living, energy consumption has grown significantly in China, which has resulted in serious local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Because both carbon dioxide (CO2) and air pollutant emissions mainly stem from fossil energy use, a co-control strategy is simulated and compared with single control in China, using an integrated assessment model (Global Change Assessment Model-Tsinghua University (GCAM-TU)) in this paper. We find that end-of-pipe (EOP) control measures play an important role in reducing air pollution in the near future, but in the long run, optimizing the energy system is an effective way to control both emissions. Reducing air pollutant might take a “free-ride” of decarbonizing the energy system. Compared with a single control of air pollutants, a co-control strategy is likely to reduce the requirement of EOP control measures. The result guides the Chinese government to consider a systemic and scientific plan for decarbonizing the energy system and co-controlling CO2 and air pollutant, in order to avoid duplicate investments in infrastructure and lockup effect. The solution could be extended to many other developing countries, such as India and Africa, which is helpful to realize the goals of United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Agenda.

Both air pollution and greenhouse effect have become important issues with regard to environmental protection both in China and across the world. Consumption of energy derived from coal, oil, and natural gas forms the main source of China’s major air pollutants, SO2 and NOX, as well as the major greenhouse gas CO2. The energy structure adjustment approach provides a sensible way, not only to achieve climate change mitigation and air pollutant reduction, but also to reduce abatement costs. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization method was adopted in order to analyze the collaborative optimization of emissions and abatement costs for both air pollutants and greenhouse gases. As a typical industrial city and economic center with fossil fuels as its main energy source, Tianjin of China is used as the research sample to prove that this method can mitigate air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions and reduce abatement costs. Through demonstration, the results show that the optimization method proposed can reduce SO2, NOX, and CO2 emissions by 27,000 tons, 33,000 tons, and 29,000 tons, respectively, and the abatement costs will be reduced by 620 million yuan by adjusting the energy structure of Tianjin. The proposed method also suggests that China can achieve reductions of abatement cost and greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions under the proposed energy structure. The results indicate that collaborative optimization would help China and other countries cope with climate change while improving domestic air quality.

Kupang city is growth rapidly and located in a strategic position between Australia and Timor Leste. A sharp increase of GHG emission along with environmental pollution, contamination of water, air and improper waste disposal practices as its consequence to the global environment. The city's government ambition to evaluate impact of economic activity on greenhouse gases (GHG) emission contribution. This paper outlined pollutant sectors that contribute substantially to GHG emission in Kupang along with its structure, and count an estimated amount of emission coefficients for 27 economy sectors. More in-depth explanation about indirect coefficient pollutant emission which beneficial not only for calculation of the emission amount but more as inventory data for LCA. The paper is investigated review the trends of some priority sectors, then introduction of indirect coefficients of pollutant sectors, and showed the Pollutant Emission Structure for Kupang. After that, an estimated amount of Kupang GHG emission under BAU is also counted and confirmed. The paper only considers GHG emission issues while air pollutant emission only be provided as inventory data but will not be used as exogenous data for this paper. In the final part a brief explanation and implications of GHG emission policy in Kupang are identified. A detailed of input-output data for individual process are provided includes all groups of processes or industry sectors relevant to economy activities in Kupang City. A time period for Global Warming Potential (GWP) 20 year and 100 years are used to forecasted amounts share of total GHG emission in Kupang and Indonesia by 2020 compared to 2010. As results first, the GHG emission and air pollutant coefficients for 27 sectors in Kupang based on method is presented in NIES which use to count the GHG emission. These also become an Inventory data for researchers of regional science in Indonesia, however, geography and socioeconomic conditions in every region is different, so that some criteria will be applied. Second, found total GHG emission in Kupang is $1.0164\mathrm{x} 10^{-3}$ Gt or around 0.047% compared to total GHG emission by 2010 and 0.034% compared to total GHG emission by 2020 in Indonesia. The study suggests to government consider a proper method in decide a reliable environmental policy and technical measures to reach GHG emission targets by 2020. Third, total share of CO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> e in Indonesia emitted from Kupang for GWP 20 years and 100 years respectively were came out as follow.

Well-to-wheel analysis of energy consumption, greenhouse gas and air pollutants emissions of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in China

Exergetic life cycle assessment of hydrogen production from renewables

Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) by aircraft at the Gimhae International Airport (GIA) were investigated using the Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System (EDMS) version 5.1.3. The number of Landing and Take-Off (LTO) at the GIA for aircraft B737 was dominant, accounting for more than 60% of the total LTOs. For air pollutant emissions, CO was the most dominant pollutant by aircraft, followed by , VOCs, , etc. The emissions of CO, , and VOCs in 2009 (and 2010) at the GIA were 974 (968), 447 (433), 118 (122) ton/yr, respectively. The emissions of GHGs such as , , and in 2009 (and 2010) were 110,795 (111,114), -0.157 (-0.151), and 1,989 (1,998) ton/yr, respectively. The negative number in emission represents the consumption of atmospheric in the engine. In addition, the emissions of most air pollutants (except for ) and GHGs were estimated to be high in Taxi-Out and Climb-Out modes.

Motorcycles, cars, and buses in urban areas contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants. Particularly, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) has the highest vehicle traffic intensity in Vietnam. To improve the traffic system, HCMC has implemented urban railway projects, and this research aims to quantify the co-benefits of these public transport systems. The study used the EMISENS model and the TAMP-EARMOD simulation model system to assess the current situation and to predict the GHG and air pollution emissions when Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien) operates stably. The reduction of air pollution and GHG is calculated to identify the co-benefits when a part of personal transport means is substituted by Metro Line 1. The results show that, if Metro Line 1 is put into operation and reaches 80% of its transport capacity, the air emissions on the route parallel to Metro Line 1 decrease 429.94 tons/year, 13,639.32 tons/year, 11.36 tons/year, 1,137.84 tons/year, 24.27 tons/year for NOx, CO, SO2, NMVOC, and PM2.5, respectively. Importantly, the emission of CO2eq reduces above 49.6 million tons per year, equivalent to 25.4%. Based on these results, the study proposes measures to optimize the deployment of Metro Line 1 to maximize the attainment of co-benefits.

The members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf have typically addressed water scarcity problems by building energy-intensive desalination plants. Few efforts have addressed water scarcity through metering, pricing, and other efficiency measures to reduce demand. This paper examines how decreased leakage in the water distribution system and decreased residential water use in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, could decrease air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions from desalination plants. We developed a probabilistic model to predict the effects of water use reductions on pollutant emissions from Abu Dhabi's major independent water and power plants, which use a combination of multi-stage flash distillation and multi-effect distillation to produce fresh water from seawater drawn from the Arabian Gulf. We examine three categories of scenarios for reducing water use: increasing the price signal to residential users, instituting demand management programs among residential users, and reducing water loss in the distribution system. Our analysis suggests that water conservation price incentives could reduce air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions by 1% to 5%, depending on assumptions about how households respond to the incentives. Demand-side management programs curbing per capita water use to levels typical of the Singapore or the UK would curb emissions by 10% or 11%, respectively. Reducing water loss during distribution from the current high level of 35% to 15% (similar to loss rates in other developed nations) could cut emissions by more than 3%. Overall, our analysis suggests that high per capita water use contributes to ambient air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in Abu Dhabi.

Co-benefits of reducing CO2 and air pollutant emissions in the urban transport sector: A case of Guangzhou