Air Quality Strategy Research Articles

Towards the definition of indicators for assessment of indoor air quality and energy performance in low-energy residential buildings

A major obstacle for integrating energy and indoor air quality (IAQ) strategies in the design and optimization of buildings is the non-existence of an agreed measure, which can quantitatively describes the IAQ and will allow the assessment of measures to improve energy performance. A complication to develop such an IAQ index is that hundreds of chemical compounds are present in indoor air, including residential environments, at concentrations much lower than occurring during occupational exposures. There is a lack of clear consensus on which pollutant or group of pollutants should be used to form such an index as well as on how they should be integrated into one index. IEA EBC Annex 68 was formed with the objective to discuss Indoor Air Quality Design and Control in Low Energy Residential Buildings. The objective of Subtask 1 of this Annex described in this paper was to review, discuss and propose methods and approaches to define an IAQ index and to develop such an index so that it can be used as a key performance indicator to examine the methods to control IAQ, which are integral parts of other subtasks in this IEA EBC project. To meet this objective, the pollutants measured in low-energy houses were compared with pollutants measured in traditional houses. Pollutants measured and known to be harmful for health were identified and selected to be represented on a list of pollutants that should be considered when the IAQ index is defined. The selected pollutants were: acetaldehyde, acrolein, α-pinene, benzene, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, PM10, PM2.5, radon, styrene, toluene, trichloroethylene, TVOC and mould. Both short-term and long-term effects of these pollutants were considered. The compound with the highest ratio of concentration to its exposure limit value was proposed as the IAQ index for the short term effects so that the existing exposure limits could be referred to and to avoid problems associated with the aggregation of many air quality indices. The same approach was proposed for the IAQ index for the long-term effects together with the calculation of the burden of disease caused by the compounds of concern expressed as the sum of disability-adjusted life years. It is recognized that the proposed IAQ indices are crude, and the list of compounds is incomplete. It should be progressively updated once new data on exposure limits and pollutants of concern become available.

Factors controlling particle number concentration and size at metro stations

An extensive air quality campaign was performed at differently designed station platforms in the Barcelona metro system, aiming to investigate the factors governing airborne particle number (N) concentrations and their size distributions. The study of the daily trends of N concentrations by different size ranges shows that concentrations of N0.3–10 are closely related with the schedule of the metro service. Conversely, the hourly variation of N0.007–10 (mainly composed of ultrafine particles) could be partly governed by the entrance of particles from outdoor emissions through mechanical ventilation. Measurements under different ventilation settings at three metro platforms reveal that the effect on air quality linked to changes in the tunnel ventilation depends on the station design. Night-time maintenance works in tunnels are frequent activities in the metro system; and after intense prolonged works, these can result in higher N concentrations at platforms during the following metro operating hours (by up to 30%), this being especially evident for N1–10. Due to the complex mixture of factors controlling N, together with the differences in trends recorded for particles within different size ranges, developing an air quality strategy at metro systems is a great challenge. When compared to street-level urban particles concentrations, the priority in metro air quality should be dealing with particles coarser than 0.3 μm. In fact, the results suggest that at narrow platforms served by single-track tunnels the current forced tunnel ventilation during operating hours is less efficient in reducing coarse particles compared to fine.

Air Quality Strategies on Public Health and Health Equity in Europe-A Systematic Review.

Air pollution is an important public health problem in Europe and there is evidence that it exacerbates health inequities. This calls for effective strategies and targeted interventions. In this study, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies relating to air pollution control on public health and health equity in Europe. Three databases, Web of Science, PubMed, and Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI), were searched for scientific publications investigating the effectiveness of strategies on outdoor air pollution control, public health and health equity in Europe from 1995 to 2015. A total of 15 scientific papers were included in the review after screening 1626 articles. Four groups of strategy types, namely, general regulations on air quality control, road traffic related emission control interventions, energy generation related emission control interventions and greenhouse gas emission control interventions for climate change mitigation were identified. All of the strategies reviewed reported some improvement in air quality and subsequently in public health. The reduction of the air pollutant concentrations and the reported subsequent health benefits were more significant within the geographic areas affected by traffic related interventions. Among the various traffic related interventions, low emission zones appeared to be more effective in reducing ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter levels. Only few studies considered implications for health equity, three out of 15, and no consistent results were found indicating that these strategies could reduce health inequity associated with air pollution. Particulate matter (particularly fine particulate matter) and NO2 were the dominant outdoor air pollutants examined in the studies in Europe in recent years. Health benefits were gained either as a direct, intended objective or as a co-benefit from all of the strategies examined, but no consistent impact on health equity from the strategies was found. The strategy types aiming to control air pollution in Europe and the health impact assessment methodology were also discussed in this review.

Impact of photocatalytic remediation of pollutants on urban air quality

In the recent years, photocatalytic self-cleaning and “depolluting” materials have been suggested as a remediation technology mainly for NOx and aromatic VOCs in urban areas. A number of products incorporating the aforementioned technology have been made commercially available with the aim to improve urban air quality. These commercial products are based on the photocatalytic properties of a thin layer of TiO2 at the surface of the material (such as glass, pavement, etc.) or embedded in paints or concrete. The use of TiO2 photocatalysts as an emerging air pollution control technology has been reported in many locations worldwide. However, up to now, the effectiveness measured in situ and the expected positive impact on air quality of this relatively new technology has only been demonstrated in a limited manner. Assessing and demonstrating the effectiveness of these depolluting techniques in real scale applications aims to create a real added value, in terms of policy making (i.e., implementing air quality strategies) and economics (by providing a demonstration of the actual performance of a new technique).

Meteorological driven changes on air quality over Portugal: a KZ filter application

The Kolmogorov–Zurbenko (KZ) filter method is a tool to improve air quality management, since it determines meteorological effects on air quality concentrations and separates out those effects in order to examine underlying trends. Air quality in Portugal is exceeding the legislated particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen oxides (NO2) and ozone (O3) levels; accordingly, measures to reduce pollutant emissions have been designed. The primary objective of this work is to investigate the influence of meteorology on O3, NO2 and PM10 levels and the long-term air quality trends. Air quality and meteorological datasets were explored for the period 2002–2012 through the decomposition of time-series using the Kolmogorov–Zurbenko (KZ) filter. To determine the best meteorological predictors for the air quality data, a stepwise regression analysis of the filtered time-series was applied. The KZ filter application revealed that the short-term component has the highest contribution to the total variance of the original air quality data (≈64%–PM10; ≈52%–O3; ≈54%–NO2) followed by the seasonal component. The long-term component exhibits the influence of the emission control regulations implemented in each study region. The statistical analysis of the air quality and the meteorological data indicated that O3 has a statistically significant relationship with temperature in most of the components. The results also indicate that emission control strategies are primary regulators for NO2 and PM10 levels. Therefore, to establish an accurate strategy to improve air quality further, it will be essential to include meteorological effects. This study highlights that the KZ filter is a useful tool to support the design and implementation of adequate air quality strategies and for the investigation of the interactions between the emissions, the meteorological conditions and the air quality levels, to improve air quality management in these two urban areas.

Diesel-related hydrocarbons can dominate gas phase reactive carbon in megacities

Abstract. Hydrocarbons are key precursors to two priority air pollutants, ozone and particulate matter. Those with two to seven carbons have historically been straightforward to observe and have been successfully reduced in many developed cities through air quality policy interventions. Longer chain hydrocarbons released from diesel vehicles are not considered explicitly as part of air quality strategies and there are few direct measurements of their gaseous abundance in the atmosphere. This study describes the chemically comprehensive and continuous measurements of organic compounds in a developed megacity (London), which demonstrate that on a seasonal median basis, diesel-related hydrocarbons represent only 20–30 % of the total hydrocarbon mixing ratio but comprise more than 50 % of the atmospheric hydrocarbon mass and are a dominant local source of secondary organic aerosols. This study shows for the first time that 60 % of the winter primary hydrocarbon hydroxyl radical reactivity is from diesel-related hydrocarbons and using the maximum incremental reactivity scale, we predict that they contribute up to 50 % of the ozone production potential in London. Comparing real-world urban composition with regulatory emissions inventories in the UK and US highlights a previously unaccounted for, but very significant, under-reporting of diesel-related hydrocarbons; an underestimation of a factor ~4 for C9 species rising to a factor of over 70 for C12 during winter. These observations show that hydrocarbons from diesel vehicles can dominate gas phase reactive carbon in cities with high diesel fleet fractions. Future control of urban particulate matter and ozone in such locations requires a shift in policy focus onto gas phase hydrocarbons released from diesels as this vehicle type continues to displace gasoline world-wide.

Climate responses to anthropogenic emissions of short-lived climate pollutants

Abstract. Policies to control air quality focus on mitigating emissions of aerosols and their precursors, and other short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). On a local scale, these policies will have beneficial impacts on health and crop yields, by reducing particulate matter (PM) and surface ozone concentrations; however, the climate impacts of reducing emissions of SLCPs are less straightforward to predict. In this paper we consider a set of idealized, extreme mitigation strategies, in which the total anthropogenic emissions of individual SLCP emissions species are removed. This provides an upper bound on the potential climate impacts of such air quality strategies. We focus on evaluating the climate responses to changes in anthropogenic emissions of aerosol precursor species: black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). We perform climate integrations with four fully coupled atmosphere–ocean global climate models (AOGCMs), and examine the effects on global and regional climate of removing the total land-based anthropogenic emissions of each of the three aerosol precursor species. We find that the SO2 emissions reductions lead to the strongest response, with all models showing an increase in surface temperature focussed in the Northern Hemisphere mid and (especially) high latitudes, and showing a corresponding increase in global mean precipitation. Changes in precipitation patterns are driven mostly by a northward shift in the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone), consistent with the hemispherically asymmetric warming pattern driven by the emissions changes. The BC and OC emissions reductions give a much weaker response, and there is some disagreement between models in the sign of the climate responses to these perturbations. These differences between models are due largely to natural variability in sea-ice extent, circulation patterns and cloud changes. This large natural variability component to the signal when the ocean circulation and sea-ice are free-running means that the BC and OC mitigation measures do not necessarily lead to a discernible climate response.

THE EVALUATION OF LOCAL ATMOSPHERIC AIR POLLUTION VIA THE ASSESSMENT OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES EMISSION

Atmospheric air pollution assessment of local and regional scale on the territory of airport is being carried with estimation and so far modeling for further application of air quality strategy. Aircraft engine emission index assessment has been done by chemiluminescence method (measurement of nitrogen oxides) inside the airport area. One the ground of measurement campaign the concentration values of NOx; CO 2 ; O 3 were determined in exhaust of aircraft engine for maximum operation mode. The difference between measured emission indexes and ICAO data was found due to mismatch real operational conditions with ICAO certification terms

Normalization as a means of legal regulation in the field of ambient protection

Globalization of ecology problems causes a necessity to takesteps to protect environment at supranational and international levels. In thisconnection an urgent need of today is the study of experience of foreign countries inlegislative regulation of environment protection problems and search of ways toimprove domestic mechanism of environmental law, particularly, in the field ofambient air quality formation.Recent research and publication analysis. Experts who studied variousaspects of environmental law space in EU and other foreign countries were, forinstance, such scholars as N.R. Malysheva, V.I. Lozo, A.P. Hetman, O.P.Myroshnychenko, Yu.S. Shemchushenko, M.M. Mykiyevych, A.O. Andrusevych,N.V. Pakhomova, O.K. Vyshniakov,O.L. Dubovyk, P.A. Kalinichenko, L. Kremer,etc.Paper objective. Issuing from scientific theoretical and practical importance ofthe subject, the objective of the present paper is analysis of legal foundations of airquality regulation in European Union and other foreign countries, comparativeanalysis with the provision of national legislation in this field and search of ways howto improve national legislation by borrowing positive experience.Paper main body. Ambient air quality standards are determined on the basisof special principles applicable to all problems regulated by EU environmental law:consideration of effects, universal character, practical attainability, best availabletechnologies, “polluter must pay” and comprehensive approach. Much attention ispaid to ambient air quality by World Health Organization. Thus, in 2000Recommendations on Air Quality in Europe were issued (hereinafterRecommendations 2000, and in 2005 they were supplemented by WHO Air QualityRecommendations Relating to Solid Compounds, Ozone, Nitric Dioxide and SulfurDioxide. One of basic EU documents in the field of ambient air protection and itsquality regulation is Directive 2008/50/EU Ambient Air Quality and Cleaner Air forEurope aimed to ensure peoples’ health protection at local level, in member countriesand in total European Union by opposing pollutants exhaust at sources of their origin.Interesting aspect is the relation between terms “standard” and “norm”; the analysisof legislative provisions shows a certain identification of these concepts, even somesynonymy between them.On a par with study of European doctrine in ambient air quality regulation, wetreat as feasible a study in experience of other foreign countries in this field, suchas United Kingdom, United States of America and Australia. In UK ambient airquality is regulated in accordance with The Air Quality Strategy of 2007, byspecifying target values of air quality. US Clean Air Act of 1990 introduces a systemof ambient air quality standards consisting of primary and secondary standards. InAustralia standards of ambient air standards established in 1998 are valid, whereineach normalized parameter has an averaging period and maximum number of caseswhen it may be exceeded for each year.Conclusions of the research. Ukrainian ambient air quality protectionlegislation partially meets the requirements of legislation of foreign countries.In particular, the basic pollutant substances are regulated in Ukrainian legislation aswell as abroad. However, in spite of sufficiently branched system of ambient airquality regulation, not all aspects yet fully conform to the requirements of foreignlegislation.Thus, urgent necessity exists in further introduction of legislative experience ofEU and foreign countries in the field of ambient air quality to attain total concordbetween domestic Ukrainian legislation and European and world legal standards.

Investigating a two-component model of solid fuel organic aerosol in London: processes, PM<sub>1</sub> contributions, and seasonality

Abstract. Solid fuel emissions, including those from biomass burning, are increasing in urban areas across the European Union due to rising energy costs and government incentives to use renewable energy sources for heating. In order to help protect human health as well as to improve air quality and pollution abatement strategies, the sources of combustion aerosols, their contributions, and the processes they undergo need to be better understood. A high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was therefore deployed at an urban background site between January and February 2012 to investigate solid fuel organic aerosols (SFOA) in London. The variability of SFOA was examined and the factors governing the split between the two SFOA factors derived from Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) were assessed. The concentrations of both factors were found to increase during the night and during cold periods, consistent with domestic space heating activities. The split between the two factors is likely governed predominantly by differences in burn conditions where SFOA1 best represents more efficient burns and SFOA2 best represents less efficient burns. The differences in efficiency may be due to burner types or burn phase, for example. Different fuel types and levels of atmospheric processing also likely contribute to the two factors. As the mass spectral profile of SFOA is highly variable, the findings from this study may have implications for improving future source apportionment and factorisation analyses. During the winter, SFOA was found to contribute 38% to the total non-refractory submicron organic aerosol (OA) mass, with similar contributions from both SFOA factors (20% from SFOA1 and 18% from SFOA2). A similar contribution of SFOA was derived for the same period from a compact time-of-flight AMS (cToF-AMS), which measured for a full calendar year at the same site. The seasonality of SFOA was investigated using the year-long data set where concentrations were greatest in the autumn and winter. During the summer, SFOA contributed 11% to the organic fraction, where emissions resulted from different anthropogenic activities such as barbecues and domestic garden wood burning. The significant contribution of SFOA to total organic mass throughout the year suggests that the negative effects on health and air quality, as well as climate, are not just confined to winter as exposure to these aerosols and the associated black carbon can also occur during the summer, which may have significant implications for air-quality policies and mitigation strategies.

Indoor air quality and the suitability of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems in energy efficient social housing projects: perceptions of UK building professionals

The quality of indoor air in energy efficient buildings is a significantly important yet under-researched area, particularly in a social housing context. This study investigated perceptions of UK building professionals regarding the effect of energy efficient design strategies on indoor air quality. In-depth interviews were conducted with building professionals of four recently completed UK energy efficient social housing projects. The interviews explored perceptions of the importance of indoor air quality consideration during the design process, the impact of energy efficient design strategies on indoor air and the application of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems in a social housing context.The results suggest a significant lack of attention to indoor air quality in energy efficient social housing projects; attributed to a lack of knowledge, perceived costs associated with indoor air quality strategies, focus on energy efficiency goals and a fundamental lack of motivation. Furtherm...

Effects of Short‐Term Measures to Curb Air Pollution: Evidence from Santiago, Chile

It is well established that exposure to high levels of air pollution in the short term leads to negative health outcomes; yet there exist very few policies intended to address short run spikes in air pollution. In this article we examine a policy implemented by the Government of Chile that uses temporary measures to reduce the severity and negative health impacts of poor air quality in the short run. This policy involves the announcement of “Environmental Episodes” on days forecast to have particularly poor air quality. Such Episode announcements trigger a number of government protocols and public notices intended to both improve regional air quality and encourage avoidance behaviors among the populace. By comparing days on which Episodes were announced to observationally similar days before the policy was fully implemented, we demonstrate that the announcement of an Environmental Episode reduces ambient concentrations of particulate matter in the Santiago Metropolitan Region by approximately 20% on the day of implementation, with effects persisting into subsequent days. We also find that the temporary restrictions, government actions, and informational campaigns that make up an Episode reduce mortality among the elderly on the day‐of and days‐after Episode implementation. Our findings suggest that the Environmental Episode program effectively addresses poor air quality in the short term and could serve as a valuable model for policymakers seeking to augment long‐term air quality strategies with a means of addressing temporary spikes in local or regional air pollution levels.

Evaluation of an optimal ventilation IAQ control strategy using control performance assessment and energy demand

The purpose of this study is to suggest an optimal indoor air quality (IAQ) strategy for ventilation systems based on the control performance assessment (CPA) technique, whereby the performance of a control system can be quantified by a performance index. Four control structures of the IAQ ventilation system are proposed using a combination of a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller which is employed to control the concentration of particulate matter (PM), and two feed-forward controllers which are used to reject the influence of the subway train schedule and the concentration of outdoor PM. The control structure with the highest control performance is selected as an optimal control structure and re-tuned by a line search algorithm. The control structure consisting of a PID controller and a feed-forward controller for rejecting the effect of the train schedule exhibited the best control performance as well as low energy demand and low healthy risk of IAQ. When compared to a conventional ventilation system, the optimized structure exhibited a 70% improvement in control performance and reduced almost healthy risk of IAQ while reducing energy demand by 36%.

Dispersion Modeling of Traffic-Related Air Pollutant Exposures and Health Effects among Children with Asthma in Detroit, Michigan

Vehicular traffic is a major source of ambient air pollution in urban areas. Traffic-related air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter, and diesel exhaust emissions, have been associated with adverse human health effects, especially in areas near major roads. In addition to emissions from vehicles, ambient concentrations of air pollutants include contributions from stationary sources and background (or regional) sources. Although dispersion models have been widely used to evaluate air quality strategies and policies and can represent the spatial and temporal variation in environments near roads, the use of these models in health studies to estimate air pollutant exposures has been relatively limited. This paper summarizes the modeling system used to estimate exposures in the Near-Roadway Exposure and Urban Air Pollutant Study, an epidemiological study that examined 139 children with asthma or symptoms consistent with asthma, most of whom lived near major roads in Detroit, Michigan. Air pollutant concentrations were estimated with a hybrid modeling framework that included detailed inventories of mobile and stationary sources on local and regional scales; the RLINE, AERMOD, and CMAQ dispersion models; and monitored observations of pollutant concentrations. The temporal and spatial variability in emissions and exposures over the 2.5-year study period and at more than 300 home and school locations was characterized. The paper highlights issues with the development and understanding of the significance of traffic-related exposures through the use of dispersion models in urban-scale exposure assessments and epidemiology studies.

Intercontinental trans-boundary contributions to ozone-induced crop yield losses in the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract. Using a global atmospheric chemistry model, we have quantified for the first time, intercontinental transboundary contributions to crop ozone exposure and subsequent yield reductions in the Northern Hemisphere. We apply four metrics (AOT40, M7, M12, W126) to assess the impacts of 100% reductions in anthropogenic NOx emissions from North (N) America, South East (SE) Asia and Europe on global and regional exposure of 6 major agricultural crop types to surface ozone, and resultant crop production losses during the year 2000 growing season. Using these metrics, model calculations show that for wheat, rice, cotton and potato, 100 % reductions in SE Asian anthropogenic NOx emissions tend to produce the greatest global reduction in crop production losses (42.3–95.2%), and a 100 % reduction to N~American anthropogenic NOx emissions results in the greatest global impact on crop production losses for maize and soybean (59.2–85.9%). A 100% reduction in N~American anthropogenic NOx emissions produces the largest transboundary impact, resulting in European production loss reductions of between 14.2% and 63.2%. European NOx emissions tend to produce a smaller transboundary impact, due to inefficiency of transport from the European domain. The threshold nature of the AOT40 ozone-exposure metric results in strong dependence of non-local emissions impacts on the local ozone concentration distribution. Our calculations of absolute crop production change under emission reduction scenarios differ between the metrics used, however we find the relative importance of each region's transboundary impact remains robust between metrics. Our results demonstrate that local air quality and emission control strategies have the potential to partly alleviate ozone-induced crop yield loss in continents downstream, in addition to effectively mitigating local ozone-induced production losses.

Influence of vehicular traffic on a major trunk road on rural air quality in UK

Although poor air quality has long been linked to urban areas, it is seemingly apparent that many rural areas have locations where air quality strategy objectives may be threatened in the wake of increasing vehicular traffic. This study examined the contributions of traffic towards air quality status by conducting monthly assessment of rural air quality along the A49 trunk road. The aim is to observe differences in main pollutant concentrations depending on the distance from the road.Monthly data of particulate deposits were monitored at roadsides, 50m and 100m distance in proximity to the A49 trunk road over a 22-month period (June 2008–Apr 2010). Direct analysis by SEM-EDS, ICP-MS, PTrak and XRF revealed a seasonal, intra-and inter-site variations and a distance–decay relationship. However, at some locations with increased vehicular activities, this relationship was altered.

Modelling national air quality strategy scenarios with UKIAM: uncertainties emerging from the integration of multiple spatial scales

For the UK's air quality strategy we assessed future scenarios involving reductions of emissions from traffic based on results from the UK integrated assessment model for national emissions integrated with European contributions from the Abatement Strategies Assessment Model. We quantify the uncertainties and assumptions relating to the percentage of primary NO2 in NOX emissions, background NOX concentrations and definition of background primary PM10. We highlight the source apportionment of secondary inorganic aerosols and the significant 'imported' contributions to UK PM10 concentrations. It is crucial both to highlight all assumptions and uncertainties in models, and to interpret results and comparisons accordingly.

The ozone source–receptor model – A tool for UK ozone policy

The Ozone Source–Receptor Model (OSRM) is a Lagrangian trajectory model developed to describe photochemical ozone production in the UK. The OSRM builds on existing boundary layer trajectory models used previously for assisting the development of UK ozone policy, but has a number of notable differences. A novel feature of the OSRM is a surface conversion module to represent the vertical gradient in ozone arising from chemical loss and deposition to the surface. This has significantly improved the performance of the model, especially in urban areas. In this paper, the modelling system is described and its performance against measured ozone concentrations and metrics and other UK ozone models is discussed. The model has been used to calculate future ozone concentrations in the UK and thus to assess a number of possible control measures developed for the UK Air Quality Strategy.

Climate and air quality-driven scenarios of ozone and aerosol precursor abatement

Abstract In addition to causing domestic and regional environmental effects, many air pollutants contribute to radiative forcing (RF) of the climate system. However, climate effects are not considered when cost-effective abatement targets for these pollutants are established, nor are they included in current international climate agreements. We construct air pollution abatement scenarios in 2030 which target cost-effective reductions in RF in the EU, USA, and China and compare these to abatement scenarios which instead target regional ozone effects and particulate matter concentrations. Our analysis covers emissions of PM (fine, black carbon and organic carbon), SO 2 , NO x , CH 4 , VOCs, and CO. We find that the effect synergies are strong for PM/BC, VOC, CO and CH 4 . While an air quality strategy targeted at reducing ozone will also reduce RF, this will not be the case for a strategy targeting particulate matter. Abatement in China dominates RF reduction, but there are cheap abatement options also available in the EU and USA. The justification for international cooperation on air quality issues is underlined when the co-benefits of reduced RF are considered. Some species, most importantly SO 2 , contribute a negative forcing on climate. We suggest that given current knowledge, NO x and SO 2 should be ignored in RF-targeted abatement policies.

Air pollution policies in Europe: efficiency gains from integrating climate effects with damage costs to health and crops

Emissions of air pollutants cause damage to health and crops, but several air pollutants also have an effect on climate through radiative forcing. We investigate efficiency gains achieved by integrating climate impacts of air pollutants into air quality strategies for the EU region. The pollutants included in this study are SO2 ,N H3, VOC, CO, NOx, black carbon, organic carbon, PM2.5, and CH4. We illustrate the relative importance of climate change effects compared to damage to health and crops, as well as monetary gains of including climate change contributions. The analysis considers marginal abatement costs and compares air quality and climate damage in Euros. We optimize abatement policies with respect to both climate and health impacts, which imply implementingall measures that yield a netbenefit. The efficiency gains of the integrated policy are in the order of 2.5 billion Euros, compared to optimal abatement based on health and crop damage only, justifying increased abatement efforts of close to 50%. Climate effect of methane is the single most important factor. If climate change is considered on a 20- instead of a 100-year time-scale, the efficiency gain almost doubles. Our results indicate that air pollution policies should be supplemented with climate damage considerations. # 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.