CO2 synergistic emission reduction and health benefits of PM2.5 reaching WHO-III level in Pearl River Delta

Abstract

Protecting human health is one of the fundamental goals of continuous air quality improvement. Considering the same sources of CO2 and air pollutants emissions, their emission control measures often have a certain degree of synergistic emission reduction effects To balance the costs and policy efficiency, policy makers should assess the synergistic benefits of CO2 emission reduction when formulating air quality improvement strategies. Aimed at the air quality improvement strategy targeting WHO-III level (i.e. 15 μg/m3) for PM2.5 in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, this study evaluates the synergistic CO2 reduction effects and the associated health benefits from this strategy which includes a range of air pollution prevention and control measures. The results of the study show that promoting the attainment of WHO-III for PM2.5 in the PRD region can bring about 74 Mt of synergistic CO2 emission reduction, resulting in an 18% reduction of CO2 emissions in the PRD compared to 2017. Among various measures considered, industrial restructuring, power supply transition and industrial energy consumption transformation exhibit the most pronounced synergistic effects. Therefore, these measures are recommended to be prioritized and promoted in the next stage of air pollution prevention and CO2 emission reduction. Furthermore, when the PM2.5 concentration in the PRD region reaches the WHO-III level, the number of PM2.5-related deaths will be estimated to reduce approximately 5.5 thousand compared to that in the current policy scenario. Through continuous structural transformation and emission reduction efforts, it not only facilitates the decline in regional PM2.5 concentration but also helps more regional residents to live in an environment with a relatively low PM2.5 concentration. In addition, in order to reduce the health impacts of PM2.5, it is recommended that the government should guide people to change their production and living styles in order to reduce pollutant emissions from anthropogenic activities.