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Despite their key role in integrated waste management, direct (incineration) and indirect (gasification/pyrolysis) waste combustion processes are still opposed by some of the general public due to the past emission levels of air pollutants. In fact, although the release of air pollutants (especially dioxin) to the atmosphere from waste combustion processes has gradually decreased over the years, thanks to the introduction of stricter regulations and more advanced removal technologies, there is still an unsolved problem regarding the public acceptance of waste-to-energy facilities. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art air pollution control (APC) technologies used in waste combustion facilities. Air pollution control technologies are designed to reduce or eliminate the emissions of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. These technologies are important for safeguarding public health, protecting ecosystems, complying with regulations, and promoting a more sustainable and resilient future for both local and global communities. This paper will highlight the complexity behind emission control and the efforts made by this sector over the years. This paper will also propose suggested configurations based on the interactions/complementarity between different APC technologies and recent findings to improve their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the incomplete adjoint operator method in part I of this series of papers, the total emission source S can be retrieved from the pollutant concentrations ρob obtained from the air pollution monitoring network. This paper studies the problem of retrieving anthropogenic emission sources from S. Assuming that the natural source Sn is known, and as the internal source Sc due to chemical reactions is a function of pollutant concentrations, if the chemical reaction equations are complete and the parameters are accurate, Sc can be calculated directly from ρob, and then Sa can be obtained from S. However, if the chemical reaction parameters (denoted as γ) are insufficiently accurate, both γ and Sc should be corrected. This article proposes a "double correction iterative method" to retrieve Sc and correct γ and proves that this iterative method converges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of these papers focused on the characterization and mitigation of air pollutants in the rural areas, and few of them considered the air pollutants from urban area. With rapid development of modern agriculture, a multitude and a large amount of air pollutants were generated by agricultural activities, which are becoming more and more serious issues with regards to air pollution [[1]]. (3) Residential combustion Compared with industrial sources, rural residential combustion is more harmful to air quality and human health under the same emission values of air pollutants. Strategies on the Air Emission Control for Rural Areas With the rapid development of modern agriculture, the impact of pollutants emitted by agricultural activities on the atmosphere is gradually non-negligible, and more and more relevant studies have been conducted to reduce the threat of agricultural air pollution [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

In part I of this paper series, the application of an incomplete adjoint operator to calculate the optimal reduction of the total emissions S′ was suggested. This paper, part II of the series, focuses on calculating the reduction of the anthropogenic emission source S′a As Sc (the source term due to the chemical reaction in the atmosphere) is a complex function of the pollutant concentration ρ, we propose an iterative optimization method using a positive-negative discriminant to obtain S′a from S′. The convergence of the iterations is also proven in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution emissions can exceed the environmental self-purification capacity and trigger hazardous meteorological events, which have non negligible impacts on all aspects of society. The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between China's manufacturing industry benefits and air quality, taking into account the role of government policies in the era of big data, and to study the change points in the time series relationship between industry benefits and air quality. First, we apply and analyze big data and estimate values based on the maximum deviation method. Then, gray relational analysis is used to identify change points, which occur in 2005 and 2010 for both industry benefits and air quality. The total study period is divided into three subperiods: 1998–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2017. We find that air pollution control policy was relatively extensive from 1998 to 2005, and that there was a negative relationship between air quality and manufacturing industry benefits. From 2006 to 2010, a positive relationship gradually appeared and, since 2011, with the popularization of big data technology in policy making and environmental governance, intergovernmental cooperation has deepened and manufacturing enterprises have been more actively involved in governance. Consequently, the positive relationship between air quality and the comprehensive benefits of the manufacturing industry has remained stable. Finally, suggestions for policy makers and manufacturing companies are made from the perspectives of system construction, integration, and differentiation, big data challenges, and enterprise innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the effect of air pollution joint prevention and control on pollution emissions in China. Specifically, based on the panel data of 290 cities from 2007 to 2021, taking the implementation of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan" as a natural experiment, the difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) model was used to explore the effect of air pollution joint prevention and control on haze pollution. Results show that air pollution joint prevention has a significant impact on pollutant emissions either as a whole or as a single pollutant. In terms of individual urban agglomeration, whether the Yangtze River Delta or the Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations, the air pollution joint prevention and control policy has a significant impact not only on the overall reduction of pollutant emissions but also on the reduction of single PM2.5 or industrial sulfur dioxide emissions alone. Environmental regulations have also achieved the effect of haze control in general and have a significant impact on the reduction of PM2.5 or industrial sulfur dioxide emissions. Environmental regulations also significantly reduced PM2.5 emissions in these three urban agglomerations. These findings provide a scientific basis and essential reference for understanding the implementation effect of regional joint prevention and control policies comprehensively and objectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Waste emissions scenarios are modelled with the rapid assessment software CCAC SWEET. • HIA for PM 2.5 and application of publicly available tool WHO AirQ+. • 94% reduction of long-term mortality due to reductions in PM 2.5 emissions in 2030. • A detailed analysis of the current situation provides suggestions for waste management policies. Despite the clear link between air pollution and health, research to investigate the relationship between municipal solid waste management and air pollution and health has not been prioritized. Such research may generate scientific information that would help reduce population exposure to air pollutants. This paper examines the case study of Accra in Ghana, a city dealing with serious waste management problems. The paper proposes a methodology to estimate the impact of waste management on urban air pollution and health. The analysis is described in the following four steps: (1) collecting data on the waste sector; (2) modeling the emissions arising from waste management; (3) transforming emissions to concentration values and (4) estimating the burdens on health. The assessment has been conducted using the CCAC SWEET tool and WHO AirQ+. The method presented can be used in different locations, depending on data availability, when analyzing the impact of and potential changes to waste sector policies. The results of this health impact assessment indicate that, based on the emissions of PM 2.5 from the waste sector in Accra, a change from the business-as-usual to more sustainable options would reduce air pollutants emissions and avert 120 premature deaths in 2030. Levels of air pollution in Accra are significant and interventions to reduce PM 2.5 exposure should be promoted. The detailed analysis of the current situation provides suggestions for waste management policies in terms of impacts on health and ideas to reconsider the waste policies in Accra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current nationally determined contributions, pledged by the countries under the Paris Agreement, are far from limiting climate change to below 2 ∘C temperature increase by the end of the century. The necessary ratcheting up of climate policy is projected to come with a wide array of additional benefits, in particular a reduction of today's 4.5 million annual premature deaths due to poor air quality. This paper therefore addresses the question how climate policy and air pollution–related health impacts interplay until 2050 by developing a comprehensive global modeling framework along the cause and effect chain of air pollution–induced social costs. We find that ratcheting up climate policy to a 2 ∘ compliant pathway results in welfare benefits through reduced air pollution that are larger than mitigation costs, even with avoided climate change damages neglected. The regional analysis demonstrates that the 2 ∘C pathway is therefore, from a social cost perspective, a "no-regret option" in the global aggregate, but in particular for China and India due to high air quality benefits, and also for developed regions due to net negative mitigation costs. Energy and resource exporting regions, on the other hand, face higher mitigation cost than benefits. Our analysis further shows that the result of higher health benefits than mitigation costs is robust across various air pollution control scenarios. However, although climate mitigation results in substantial air pollution emission reductions overall, we find significant remaining emissions in the transport and industry sectors even in a 2 ∘C world. We therefore call for further research in how to optimally exploit climate policy and air pollution control, deriving climate change mitigation pathways that maximize co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution control policies in China have been experiencing profound changes, highlighting a strategic transformation from total pollutant emission control to air quality improvement, along with the shifting targets starting from acid rain and NO x emissions to PM 2.5 pollution, and then the emerging O 3 challenges. The marvelous achievements have been made with the dramatic decrease of SO 2 emission and fundamental improvement of PM 2.5 concentration. Despite these achievements, China has proposed Beautiful China target through 2035 and the goal of 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutrality, which impose stricter requirements on air quality and synergistic mitigation with Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Against this background, an integrated multi-objective and multi-benefit roadmap is required to provide decision support for China's long-term air quality improvement strategy. This paper systematically reviews the technical system for developing the air quality improvement roadmap, which was integrated from the research output of China's National Key R&D Program for Research on Atmospheric Pollution Factors and Control Technologies (hereafter Special NKP), covering mid- and long-term air quality target setting techniques, quantitative analysis techniques for emission reduction targets corresponding to air quality targets, and pathway optimization techniques for realizing reduction targets. The experience and lessons derived from the reviews have implications for the reformation of China's air quality improvement roadmap in facing challenges of synergistic mitigation of PM 2.5 and O 3 , and the coupling with climate change mitigation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the most concerning and alarming problems in the modern world, and it is increasing day by day due to a large number of industries and urbanization. When pollutants are released into the air from several sources, such as the combustion of fossil fuels, industrial emissions, agricultural sources, and so on, it is referred to as air pollution. It is acknowledged as a significant risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that include lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and acute and chronic respiratory illnesses including asthma. An estimated seven million individuals die globally every year due to air pollution as the world health organization reported on their website. In this paper, we have proposed an Internet of Things (IoT) based air pollution detection, monitoring, and controlling system. The system detects the various air pollutants by combining the different sensors, helps users to monitor the received pollutants levels over LCD, user's mobile app, and cloud server, and controls the air quality up to a certain level when pollutants levels cross the threshold limits. NodeMCU plays an important role to exchange the data or information between the proposed system devices. We have designed a prototype for demonstrating the proposed system performance. The prototype testing and result show's that the proposed system works significantly well in terms of detection, monitoring, and controlling air pollution, especially proposed controllers exhibit impressive performance for maintaining the air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial discusses the issue of air pollution and its impact on public health and economic costs. The World Health Organization recognizes air pollution as a major environmental health risk, causing millions of premature deaths annually. The editorial highlights 17 articles that provide valuable insights into the interdisciplinary aspects of air pollution, covering topics such as air quality assessment, economic growth, and spatial effects. The research emphasizes the importance of understanding the sources and impacts of air pollution to develop effective strategies for mitigation and improve public health. The article also explores the relationship between economic growth, industrial pollution, and environmental degradation, particularly in China. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of air pollution and provide valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners. The document concludes by discussing the need to reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality for the sake of public health and sustainable development. Additionally, the article summarizes various studies on the impact of air pollution on human health, including its association with metabolic syndrome, negative effects on semen quality, and increased risk of liver cancer. The research highlights the economic and welfare costs of air pollution and the importance of implementing effective policies to mitigate its adverse health effects. [Extracted from the article]

Atmosphere pollution is a burning issue in Pakistan and therefore getting substantial attention at both the national and international levels. It is not only confined to the cities, but the small towns in Pakistan also suffer from this problem. However, very little information exists regarding public awareness and willingness to pay (WTP) for atmosphere pollution, particularly among the inhabitants of towns. This study aims to investigate the role of public awareness and WTP in the elimination of atmosphere pollution via a well-structured interview schedule. The interval regression model is used to analyze the data. The analysis shows that radio, television, and newspapers are the prime sources of information regarding atmosphere pollution in the study area. The attitude of the respondents concerning the severity of atmosphere pollution, only 46.0 percent declares pollution in towns as 'moderately severe.' Regarding the sources of pollution, 48 percent of the respondents attribute vehicular emissions besides industrial emissions to atmosphere pollution. The environment-friendly measures that respondents favored include the use of public transportation (37.7%) and solar equipment (27.7%) followed by the carbon tax and personal car sharing. There exists a significant difference between the WTP for self-protective measures before and after the dissemination of information. The analysis further demonstrates that the WTP to support the control and prevention of air pollution after the dissemination of information is significantly higher than before the dissemination of such information. However, respondents tend to pay more for self-protective measures than to support the control and prevention measures. Alternatively, this may indicate that inhabitants of the study area want the government to play a dominant role in controlling atmosphere pollution and preventive actions. Among the various socio-economic factors, the level of education and income significantly increase the WTP to eliminate atmosphere pollution. This study is important to better understand public awareness and WTP to prevent atmosphere pollution in Pakistan. It could also contribute to activating positive public participation to control atmosphere pollution and its management to move toward sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is an increasingly important form of environmental impact assessment. CBA has long been used for analysing existing air pollution policy proposals and ensuring that the benefits of proposed policies outweigh the costs. However, with the Clean Air Policy package proposed in 2013, the European Commission reversed the conventional approach. Instead of using CBA to calculate economic welfare of proposed emission levels, they used CBA to calculate a precise economic welfare-maximising solution and used the corresponding calculated emission levels as basis for their proposal. Despite the year 2016 adoption of much of the policy package proposal, air pollution will still be problematic in Europe in year 2030. It is expected that most parts of the European Union will experience air pollution levels above those recommended in the new air quality guideline values recently updated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The European Commission is now revising the air quality targets for the European Union, and it reasonable to assume that CBA will once again be influential. At the same time as the influence of CBA has grown with respect to air pollution policy, the literature criticising standard welfare economics and CBA as a concept has increased, albeit in an unfocused way. Given these two opposing trends, it is timely to compile a variety of perspectives and an in-depth discussion as to whether this current use of CBA to support air pollution policies is scientifically robust. This conceptual paper discusses the implicit methodological choices made when using an economic welfare-maximising CBA as an impact assessment tool to set targets in air quality policy proposals. The discussion applies an air pollution CBA-perspective to the existing critique of CBA and welfare economics and adds seminal papers from a well-established body of criticism of economic analysis. Perspectives from the disciplines of behavioural economics, economic psychology, and complexity economics are included and compared in terms of the way in which standard economics represents economic decision-making. This paper is the first to include perspectives from all these disciplines in a discussion of applied air pollution CBAs. The body of criticism is contrasted with theories from science-technology-society studies and an empirical description of the actual process from the production of an impact assessment to a final policy agreement. Potential pathways are discussed, including a discussion of alternatives to the current approach. On balance, minor adjustments, major adjustments (requiring further research), as well as methodological improvements are needed. Desirable minor adjustments include the need to avoid perfect foresight CBAs. It is important to include a range of potential air policy ambitions that are contingent on economic development, climate policy development, and equity preferences. Furthermore, the CBA should be based on a combination of climate and air pollution control options, and not just air pollution control. Appropriate major adjustments include better representation of technology learning, and potentially positive system feedbacks from, for example, electric vehicles. Another major adjustment is the monetisation and inclusion of all known environmental and human health externalities. A final major adjustment is ensuring that CBAs can accommodate existing environmental policy targets as feasible model solutions. The main and important methodological recommendation is that the fundament of CBA methodology should be left as it is, although policy proposal impact assessments should be expanded with analyses made with other methodologies. Such methodologies may adopt other ethical perspectives, based on, for example, egalitarian and hierarchical rationales, when analysing or proposing the ambition levels of air pollution policies. • Precise solutions from cost-benefit analyses have become important support to European air pollution policies. • The methodology of current European Commission air pollution policy cost-benefit analysis is reviewed and discussed. • Based on the discussion it is suggested that several improvements to the current analysis are available. • The most important model improvement is to ensure that existing air pollution policy targets are feasible solutions in the modelling. • The most important methodological improvement is to complement the economically welfare-maximising approach implicit in cost-benefit analysis with analysis based on for example egalitarian and hierarchical rationales for emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A big data computational text analysis based on a corpus of 2.4 million words. • Comparison of major themes on air pollution in stakeholder discourse in Hong Kong. • Three stakeholder groups are studied; all focus on emissions and pollution control. • Public health is a greater concern in MEDIA compared with other groups. • More personalized health information to be shared with the vulnerable groups. Stakeholder engagement is critical to the successful formulation and implementation of environmental policies. Text analysis can serve as an important means to decipher stakeholder (dis)agreements. Traditionally, researchers analyze texts using qualitative text analysis. Relying only on qualitative text analysis can no longer be sufficient to handle very large amounts of textual data. Now computational methods can be applied to help extract opinions in electronic texts. Our paper adopts a big data computational text analysis approach (keyword analysis, keyword co-occurrence, thematic analysis), based on a corpus of 2.4 million words, to compare concerns towards air pollution among three stakeholder groups (i.e. the government (GOV), the environmental groups (NGO) and the news media (MEDIA)) in Hong Kong, between 2002 and 2012, a period when air pollution was subject to rigorous policy debates and discussions. Our analysis shows the somewhat different concerns of the stakeholders. The stakeholders focus heavily on emissions and end-of-pipe pollution control. Though the advocation of sustainability since 1990s, the government-led command-and-control approach still dictates the discourse. Sustainability is featured more intensively by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. Transboundary pollution (e.g. from Guangdong, China) is not a major concern for all stakeholder groups. Public health is a greater concern in MEDIA, as compared to the other two stakeholder groups. Future air pollution policy-making may direct more of its attention to the pressing concerns over the negative impacts of air pollution on health and its associated costs, with health experts getting more closely involved in the regulatory decision-makings. More information should be given to vulnerable groups, such as young children or workers in polluted environments. To better relate differential health risks of pollution in everyday life, both local and international governments should consider developing more personalized air pollution monitoring and health management systems for their citizens in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has become a severe problem in the world. The power sector accounts for a large percentage of air pollutants emissions and has large emission reduction potential due to its centralized emissions. In order to find a cost-effective development pathway for the power sector to realize emission reduction, a multi-regional power generation expansion planning model is proposed in this paper and China is used for a case study. The model integrates air pollutants emission constraints, multi-regional interconnected power system and hourly power scheduling. Detailed regional characteristics and Ultra-High-Voltage (UHV) power transmission lines among regions in China are included whilst the power scheduling process is incorporated on an hourly basis. The scenario analysis shows that existing actions including the planned long-distance UHV power transmission lines and the corresponding coal plants groups in resource-rich regions would significantly help to reduce emissions in load-centered regions and realize the national emission reduction target. However, building coal plants groups in resource-rich regions for power exports turns out to be pollution transfer and cause their emissions to exceed local environmental carrying capacity. Regional power generation expansion planning incorporating regional environmental carrying capacity constraints presents a solution to this problem of unbalanced regional emission reduction. The result shows that substituting 68.4 GW of planned coal plants with renewable energy power plants in resource-rich regions for power exports could control the emissions in all regions to lower than local environmental carrying capacity. • A multi-regional power generation expansion planning model with air pollutants emission constraints is proposed. • The model integrates emission constraints, multi-regional interconnected power system and hourly power scheduling. • Large power transmission would potentially increase air pollutants emissions in power-exporting regions. • Developing more renewable energy is a more sustainable way both nationally and regionally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally accepted that air quality is closely related to human health. In this study, to investigate the dynamic characteristics of air quality and explore the driving factors of air pollution, the Air Quality Index (AQI) and concentration data of six air pollutants (CO, NO2, O3, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2) were fitted to functional curves using the B-spline basis function. Compared with discrete data, functional data can better express the dynamic characteristics of data and reduce information loss. Additionally, functional clustering based on the principal component coefficient was established to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of air quality, and a functional linear model was established to analyze the relationship between pollutants and anthropogenic factors. The results showed that air pollutants in Fujian Province were found to have certain temporal and spatial heterogeneity, among which the seasonal characteristics of NO2 and O3 (high in summer, low in winter) were opposite to those of the other pollutants considered. The spatial distribution of air pollution was low (high) pollution in inland (coastal) areas, and the primary air pollutants in Fujian Province were PM10 and PM2.5. The functional linear model indicated that anthropogenic factors (e.g., vehicle numbers and emissions of industrial NOX emissions) were found to have a notable impact on air pollutants. The findings of this study could act as a reference in support of air pollution control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, as China's peaking carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution control projects have converged, scholars have begun to focus on the synergistic mechanisms of greenhouse gas and pollution gas reduction. In 2020, the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, which led to severe nationwide blockade measures, unexpectedly provided a valuable opportunity to study the synergistic reduction in greenhouse gases and polluting gases. This paper uses a combination of NO2, O3, and CO2 column concentration products from different satellites and surface concentrations from ground-based stations to investigate potential correlations between these monitoring indicators in four Chinese representative cities. We found that XCO2 decreased in March to varying degrees in different cities. It was witnessed that the largest decrease in CO2, −1.12 ppm, occurred in Wuhan, i.e., the first epicenter of COVID-19. We also analyzed the effects of NO2 and O3 concentrations on changes in XCO2. First, in 2020, we used a top-down approach to obtain the conclusion that the change amplitude of NO2 concentration in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan were −24%, −18%, −4%, and −39%, respectively. Furthermore, the O3 concentration increments were 5%, 14%, 12%, and 14%. Second, we used a bottom-up approach to obtain the conclusion that the monthly averaged NO2 concentrations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan in March had the largest changes, changing to −39%, −40%, and −61%, respectively. The corresponding amounts of changes in monthly averaged O3 concentrations were −14%, −2%, and 9%. However, the largest amount of change in monthly averaged NO2 concentration in Guangzhou was found in December 2020, with a value of −40%. The change in O3 concentration was −12% in December. Finally, we analyzed the relationship of NO2 and O3 concentrations with XCO2. Moreover, the results show that the effect of NO2 concentration on XCO2 is positively correlated from the point of the satellite (R = 0.4912) and the point of the ground monitoring stations (R = 0.3928). Surprisingly, we found a positive (in satellite observations and R = 0.2391) and negative correlation (in ground monitoring stations and R = 0.3333) between XCO2 and the O3 concentrations. During the epidemic period, some scholars based on model analysis found that Wuhan's carbon emissions decreased by 16.2% on average. Combined with satellite data, we estimate that Wuhan's XCO2 fell by about 1.12 ppm in February. At last, the government should consider reducing XCO2 and NO2 concentration at the same time to make a synergistic reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have crucial influences on atmospheric chemistry. Accurate quantification of the VOC emissions is critical for air pollution research, especially when applying to air quality models. However, current bottom‐up emission inventories have biases, making observational constraints of VOC emissions necessary. We conducted concurrent VOC measurements in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region during the summer of 2018 and found large discrepancies in the spatiotemporal variations of VOCs between observations and model simulations when using the priori VOC emission inventory (Multi‐resolution Emission Inventory for China). The normalized biases of total VOC concentrations ranged from −55% to 85% across the PRD cities in the study period. To improve the simulations, we constrained the anthropogenic VOC emissions based on their measured concentrations. The observation‐constrained VOC emissions showed clear diurnal variations and resolved the spatially‐concentrated priori emissions by reducing the high emissions by 15%–36% in the central PRD cities while elevating the sparse emissions in other cities. After employing the observation‐constrained VOC emissions, the model better reproduced the spatiotemporal variations of VOCs in the PRD region, alleviating the biases to −13%–13%. Furthermore, simulations of peak ozone (O3) concentrations were amended to reduce the mean normalized bias by 5%–12% on high O3 days. Our work has effectively combined VOC field measurements with air quality modeling to achieve better simulations of VOCs and O3. Besides, the observational‐constrained emissions are flexible for studying short‐term emission changes and their subsequent impacts on air quality. Plain Language Summary: Air quality models are important tools for studying the physical and chemical processes of air pollution. Model simulations rely heavily on the input emission profiles. Despite efforts to establish accurate and model‐ready emission inventories, biases persist, which further affects model results. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various anthropogenic sources are key precursors to ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols. In this study, we constructed an observational constraint to validate current VOC emission inventories against observations in nine cities. Constrained emission profiles revealed more pronounced spatiotemporal variations in VOC emissions across cities. Furthermore, since VOC emissions were constrained by observations, air quality model simulations of VOCs and O3 were significantly improved and more consistent with observations in terms of chemical composition, diurnal variation, and spatial variation. Our proposed approach is efficient and flexible in updating VOC emissions and is suitable for air quality modeling. The improved simulations of VOCs and O3 provide scientific support for further studies on the impacts of emission changes on air pollution and pollution control strategies. Key Points: Discrepancies found in spatiotemporal variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) between field measurements and model simulationsAnthropogenic VOC emissions in the Pearl River Delta region quantitatively estimated through observationsSimulations of spatiotemporal variations of VOCs and ozone improved by observation‐constrained emissions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, the problem of air pollution in China has become increasingly serious. Particulate matter (PM) is a representative indicator of pollutants, and it is of great significance to carry out targeted treatment by studying its periodicity of concentration. In this paper, as a data mining information technology, the Empirical Mode Decomposition-Wavelet Analysis (EMD-WA) model is used to conduct a multi-scale periodic study of the PM 2.5 concentration time sequence in the Yangtze River Delta region in China and it is found that: (1) through the decomposition and reconstruction of the EMD-WA model, the period characteristics of four scales from short to long can be obtained, which are seasonal, short, medium and long period terms respectively; (2) the PM 2.5 concentration in the Yangtze River Delta region shows obvious multi-scale periodicity for the four scales, which includes a seasonal cycle of 46 days (about 1.5 months), a short cycle of 101 days (about 3.5 months), a medium cycle of 294 days (about 10 months), and a long cycle of 671 days (about 22.5 months), respectively. (3) The results are consistent in terms of season, short and middle cycle scales, in north (Jiangsu), east (Shanghai), south (Zhejiang) and west (Anhui) of the Yangtze River Delta region, but there are significant differences in the terms of long cycle scales. (4) The PM 2.5 concentration still shows obvious periodicity within 240 h during severe haze in the Yangtze River Delta region. This paper provides a framework for the government to make policies on energy conservation, emission reduction and air pollution control, and also provides a strong basis for haze prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to minimize the emission of air pollutants while making decisions about mitigating climate change has become a hot research topic. Considering the homologous homology of the two types of emissions, it is completely feasible to achieve synergistic control for different pollutants through a rational allocation of technology investment. To attain this goal, in this paper, I propose a pollutant synergistic control model. Carbon and sulfur emissions are chose as the major control object. Under a weak condition, I obtained analytical expressions for two types of cleaner technology investment paths, technology capital accumulation paths, and emission reduction paths. Further, characteristics of the respective paths, and the conditions for meeting the corresponding theoretical inflection points or peaks, were analyzed, which lays a foundation for applications of the theory. In particular, this study draws the necessary and sufficient conditions for an internal solution to the choice of cleaner technology, which is a powerful and practical evaluation index. The theoretical predictions were verified with numerical simulation. The investment of the two types of cleaner technologies peaked during the 10th period, and the capital accumulation peaked during 15th period after a slight delay. The actual measured investment and subsidy feedback gains were around the 0.04 and 0.02 levels. In addition, different combinations of targets for sulfur and carbon reduction also simulated scenarios in which the model had different internal solutions. The relevant theoretical exploration work in this paper has deep implications for policy decisions in the real world. • We propose a cleaner technology investment model to control greenhouse gas and air pollution simultaneously. • We differentiate two types of cleaner technology between the production process and end-tail process. • We obtained analytical expressions for investment paths, capital accumulation paths and abatement paths. • Necessary and sufficient conditions for an internal solution to the choice of cleaning technology is established. • Closed-loop strategy of the investment and optimal subsidy are given as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the regional transport of particulate matter (PM2.5) leading to air pollution in Fuzhou, in the west bank of the Taiwan Strait (WBTS), which has a relatively good air quality with a lower aerosol optical depth than that of East China. The continental polluted aerosol zone over the coast of East China was identified as an aerosol transport belt, and the daily aerosol dynamics observed by MODIS remote sensing indicated the southward transport of fine particulate matter to the WBTS along the coast. The external air pollutants from regional transport contributed 84% of the PM2.5 detected in Fuzhou, while only 16% due to local emissions of air pollutants. The northerly winds of the cold front drove the southward transport of polluted air masses along the coast of the northwest Pacific from the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) to the WBTS. The vertical mixing of air pollutants from the upper boundary layer to the surface layer could be conducive to regional‐transport‐induced haze pollution in this coastal area of the WBTS. Fuzhou is considered a receptor region of PM2.5 transport in Eastern China, and the source region is mainly from the YRD. The results of this study have significant implications on determining the source of pollution and controlling local air quality for good air quality regions. This study also shed some light on using multi‐satellites to fill the surface observation gaps in coast or nearshore areas, and to confirm the characteristics and passways of aerosol transport. Key Points: The southward transport of air pollutants built up a source‐receptor relationship in East Aisa Monsoon regionThe transport of exogenous PM2.5 accounts for more than 80% during a severe haze pollution in FuzhouThe unstable atmospheric boundary layer leads to the downward mixing of PM2.5 to the surface in clean areas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Strict air pollution control strategies have been implemented in recent decades in the North China Plain (NCP), previously one of the most polluted regions in the world, and have resulted in considerable changes in emissions of air pollutants. However, little is so far known about the long-term trends of the regional background level of NOx and SO2 , along with the increase and decrease processes of regional emissions. In this study, the seasonal and diurnal variations of NOx and SO2 as well as their long-term trends at a regional background station in the NCP were characterized from 2004 to 2016. On average, SO2 and NOx mixing ratios were 5.7 ± 8.4 and 14.2 ± 12.4 ppb , respectively. The seasonal variations in SO2 and NOx mixing ratios showed a similar pattern, with a peak in winter and a valley in summer. However, the diurnal variations in SO2 and NOx mixing ratios greatly differed for all seasons, indicating different sources for SO2 and NOx and meteorological effects on their concentrations. Overall, the annual mean SO2 exhibited a significant decreasing trend of - 6.1 %yr-1 (R = - 0.84, P < 0.01) from 2004 to 2016, which is very close to - 6.3 %yr-1 of the annual SO2 emission in Beijing, and a greater decreasing trend of - 7.4 %yr-1 (R = - 0.95, P < 0.01) from 2008 to 2016. The annual mean of NOx showed a fluctuating rise of + 3.4 %yr-1 (R = 0.38, P = 0.40) from 2005 to 2010, reaching the peak value (16.9 ppb) in 2010, and then exhibited an extremely significant fluctuating downward trend of - 4.5 %yr-1 (R = 0.95, P < 0.01) from 2010 to 2016. After 2010, the annual mean NOx mixing ratios correlated significantly (R = 0.94, P < 0.01) with the annual NOx emission in North China. The decreasing rate (- 4.8 %yr-1 , R = - 0.92, P < 0.01) of the annual mean NOx mixing ratios from 2011 to 2016 at the Shangdianzi (SDZ) regional atmospheric background station is lower than the one (- 8.8 %yr-1 , R = - 0.94, P < 0.01) for the annual NOx emission in the NCP and in Beijing (- 9.0 %yr-1 , R = - 0.96, P < 0.01). This indicated that surface NOx mixing ratios at SDZ had a weaker influence than SO2 on the emission reduction in Beijing and its surrounding areas in the NCP. The increase in the number of motor vehicles led to an increase in traffic emissions for NOx. This study supported conclusions from previous studies that the measures taken for controlling NOx and SO2 in the NCP in the past decades were generally successful. However, NOx emission control should be strengthened in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) are an emerging class of environmental hazardous contaminants that extensively, stably exist in airborne particulate matter and pose harmful effects on human health. However, there was little research about the sources of EPFRs in actual atmospheric conditions. This study reported the occurrence, characteristics, and sources of EPFRs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM2.5 collected in Dalian, China. The concentrations of PM2.5-bound EPFRs ranged from 1.13 × 1013 to 8.97 × 1015 spins/m3 (mean value: 1.14 × 1015 spins/m3). Carbon-centered radicals and carbon-centered radicals with adjacent oxygen atoms were detected. The concentration of ∑PAHs ranged from 1.09 to 76.24 ng/m3, and PAHs with high molecular weight (HMW) were predominant species in PM2.5. Correlation of EPFRs with SO2, NO2, O3, and 12 kinds of PAHs indicated that both fuel (coal and biomass) combustion and photoreaction in atmosphere influenced the concentrations of EPFR. The positive matrix factorization (PMF) model results have shown that the primary sources contributed most of the EPFRs and those of secondary sources had a little proportion. Coal combustion (52.4%) was the primary contributor of EPFRs, followed by traffic emission (22.6%), industrial sources (9.6%), and secondary sources (9.2%) during the heating period, whereas industrial emission (39.2%) was the primary contributor, followed by coal combustion (38.1%), vehicular exhaust (23.5%), and secondary sources (9.6%) during the non-heating period. The finding of the present study provides an important evidence for further study on the formation mechanism of EPFRs in actual atmospheric to control the air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most important reason for the rapid increase of global warming and the occurrence of related climate changes is the contamination caused by greenhouse gases released into the air. Whereas air pollution affects human health significantly, it also threatens the lives of plants and animals. As it is known, the majority of the human population contemporarily lives in cities. In these circumstances, air pollution occurring in cities is of great importance. When the sources of air pollution occurring in cities are examined, it is seen that the pollution caused by emissions originating from vehicles and industry is the leading cause among these reasons. Exhaust gas emission values originating from ships occupy an important place in the emission amounts emitted by vehicles. Considering both emissions from ships and operational reasons, it is understood that air pollution can occur at levels that will seriously affect human health at port areas. Keeping these facts in mind, Trabzon port, which is considered to be a major threat to human life due to released exhaust gases because of being in the city center and one of the biggest ports in the region, was chosen in this study. Emissions originating from ship movements and operations at this port were measured, mapped and the flow trends of these emissions were determined by the AERMOD model and the effect on the environment was investigated. Within the scope of the study, the exhaust emission measurements of the ships and the vehicles serving for operational purposes were performed all the year round. Afterwards, the annual distribution of gases was determined by modeling the measured emissions with the AERMOD model program. As a result of the analyses, it was found out that a large part of the exhaust emissions occurring at the port area originated from the ships and the amount of CO2 gas emission constituted approximately 97% of the total exhaust gas emission. Also, it was determined that the exhaust gas emitted to the widest area was NOx and the gases emitted to the environment were spread over an area of approximately 40 km2 around the port area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper discusses the impact of air quality and climate policies on global mercury emissions in the time horizon up to 2050. Evolution of mercury emissions is based on projections of energy consumption for a scenario without any global greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, and for a 2 °C climate policy scenario, which assumes internationally coordinated action to mitigate climate change. The assessment takes into account current air quality legislation in each country, as well as provides estimates of maximum feasible reductions in mercury through 2050. Results indicate significant scope for co-benefits of climate policies for mercury emissions. Atmospheric releases of mercury from anthropogenic sources under the global climate mitigation regime are reduced in 2050 by 45% when compared to the case without climate measures. Around one third of world-wide co-benefits for mercury emissions by 2050 occur in China. An annual Hg-abatement of about 800 tons is estimated for the coal combustion in power sector if the current air pollution legislation and climate policies are adopted in parallel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Under the pressures of rapid industrialization and urbanization, many Asian countries are facing the challenge of reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions simultaneously while maintaining their economic growth. Under such a circumstance, a growing attention is focused on successful implementation of co-benefit policies that are designed to reduce both air pollutants and CO2 emissions. However, the concept of co-benefit policies must be developed further in order to identify its quantitative and qualitative validity, which can be assessed using a reliable methodology for the estimation of co-benefits and through clarification of the importance of this approach for stakeholders in urban environmental policy-making. Based on a systematic review of co-benefit research and air pollution control policies in Japan, we investigated the local air pollution control policy in Kawasaki City, one of the industrial centers of Japan, and confirmed that it has contributed both to the sharp decline of atmospheric sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels and to energy efficiency improvements in local industries. Our results suggest that preventive actions and local-scale compliance enforcement tools (that are uniquely designed and act as a form of agreement between government and individual firms) could contribute significantly to successful implementation of co-benefit policies in the long-term. We conclude our paper with a discussion of linkages between low-carbon technology innovations and policy designs that could further nurture co-benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As a typical industrial city, Linyi has suffered severe atmospheric pollution in recent years. Meanwhile, a high incidence of respiratory and circulatory diseases has been observed in Linyi. The relationship between air pollutants and the prevalence of respiratory and circulatory system diseases in Linyi is still unclear, and therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the human health risks associated with air pollutants. In this study, the number of outpatient visits and spatial distribution of respiratory and circulatory diseases were first investigated. To clarify the correlation between diseases and air pollutant emissions, the residential intake fraction (IF) of air pollutants was calculated. The results showed that circulatory and respiratory diseases accounted for 62.32% of the total causes of death in 2015. The incidence of respiratory diseases was high in the winter, and outpatient visits were observed for more males (60.9%) than females (39.1%). The spatial distribution suggested that outpatient visits for respiratory and circulatory diseases were concentrated in the main urban area of Linyi, including the Hedong District, Lanshan District, and Luozhuang District, and especially at the junction of these three areas. After calculating the IF combined with the characteristics of pollution sources, meteorological conditions, and population data, a high IF value was concentrated in urban and suburban areas, which was consistent with the high incidence of diseases. Moreover, high R values and a significant correlation (R > 0.6, p < 0.05) between outpatient visits and residential IF of air pollutants imply similar spatial distributions of outpatient visits and IF value of residents. The spatial similarity of air pollution and outpatient visits suggested that future air pollution control policies should better reflect the health risks of spatial hotspots. This study can provide a potentially important reference for environmental management and air pollution-related health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Environment issues are more than ever important in a modern society. Complying with stricter legal thresholds on pollution emissions raises an important economic issue. This paper presents some ideas in the use of optimization tools to help in the planning and control of stationary pollution sources. Three main semi-infinite programming approaches are described. The first consists in optimizing an objective function while the pollution level in a given region is kept bellow a given threshold. In the second approach the maximum pollution level in a given region is computed and in the third an air pollution abatement problem is considered. These formulations allow to obtain the best control parameters and the maxima pollution positions, where the sampling stations should be placed. A specific modeling language was used to code four academic problems. Numerical results computed with a semi-infinite programming solver are shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Multifractal method is introduced to determine the interaction between PM 2.5 and O 3. • Multi-temporal scaling of the interaction between PM 2.5 and O 3 is studied. • A mulitfractal index is set up to evaluate PM 2.5 -O 3 coordinated control capability. • Time dependence of the mulitfractal index in different cities verifies its validity. • The mulitfractal index can provide guidance for two-pollutant control strategies. Under combined air pollution conditions, the coordinated control of PM 2.5 and O 3 has significant implications for environmental management. To better understand the coordinated control capability of different metropolises, a prime consideration is how to develop a scientific and objective index for quantifying it. In this paper, based on the multifractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MF-DCCA) method, a novel dynamical index η is developed to quantitatively determine the capability of metropolis to control PM 2.5 and O 3 pollution cooperatively. Furthermore, combing with the sliding window method, the high temporal scale resolution of η values of four metropolises (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu) in China is conducted in order to determine the temporal evolution of η. Then, the monthly variation of η values in the four metropolises is investigated. The U-shaped curves in the monthly mean η values indicate that PM 2.5 -O 3 coordinated control capability of the four metropolises is best in summer. The further discussions about the relations between index η and meteorological conditions have been made. Next, long-term trends of η series of four metropolises are studied by Mann–Kendall statistical test. Result shows that the trends of the η series of four metropolises are similar from 2015 to 2017. After 2017, the η series of Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu show an increasing trend, while that of Guangzhou show a decreasing trend. This suggests that PM 2.5 -O 3 coordinated control capability of Guangzhou is gradually strengthened after 2017. This may be caused by the combined effect of targeted strategies and special climatic conditions in Guangzhou. The η index could directly quantify the two-pollutant coordinated control capability of different metropolises based on field observation, rather than rely on any subjective factor. It can provide guidance for policy-making of pollution emission reduction, so as to control the combined air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper describes the POEM-PM (POllutant Emission Model for gas and Particulate Matter) emission model design. The model, providing actual and alternative emission scenarios, represents a decision support tool to evaluate emission control strategy effectiveness. It estimates emissions at local and mesoscale level and implements a combined top-down and bottom-up approach. The POEM-PM emission fields answer the GAMES (Gas Aerosol Modelling Evaluation System) multiphase modelling system requirements: grid distribution, hourly time modulation, NMVOC split and lumping, PM10 granulometric and chemical description. The emission model has been validated performing episodic and seasonal simulations over Northern Italy by GAMES. POEM-PM is at present the emission model for air quality chemical and transport applications recommended by the Italian National Environmental Agency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ambient air quality in the present-day Czech Republic (CR), one of the two succession countries of Czechoslovakia post-1993, was perceived as a major problem with severe human health and environmental consequences, particularly between the 1970s and 1990s [[1]]. Regional and Urban Background Ambient Air Pollution The ambient air concentrations from regional stations are important as reference sites, providing ambient air quality levels for comparison to impact areas, such as cities and industrial regions. Major air pollution problems are highlighted, main hotspots and air pollutants are indicated, and air pollution impacts on both human health and the environment are discussed. Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors With an ever-increasing need to control ambient air pollution in cities and industrial areas, we have recently witnessed a boom in demand for low-cost air quality sensors. [Extracted from the article]

• A novel stochastic dispersion control is proposed for air pollution in the MOEGF. • A novel two-stage Pareto optimization is established to solve the MOEGF. • A Pareto optimizer I-HAPM is developed for Pareto solution set in the first stage. • The stochastic dispersion control mitigates air pollution with enhanced robustness. • I-HAPM surpasses existing algorithms to obtain a high-quality Pareto solution set. In consideration of the deteriorating global warming and air pollution, a multi-objective electricity-gas flow (MOEGF) is proposed in this paper. Different from the existing emission control modes, a novel stochastic dispersion (SD) control for air pollutants is formulated in the MOEGF. The SD control considering district-varying environmental tolerance introduces the Gauss puff dispersion model to precisely describe the emission dispersion, and further reduces the influence on air pollutant concentration. In addition, a scenario-based strategy is developed to enhance the robustness of SD control in the atmospheric condition uncertainty. To solve the MOEGF involving complex constraints and multiple conflictive objectives, a two-stage Pareto optimization framework is proposed. In the first stage, the nonconvex natural gas flow is linearized, and then an improved homogenized adjacent points method (I-HAPM) is developed to calculate a high-quality Pareto solution set of the simplified MOEGF, to provide diversified trade-off between objectives. Owing to the cooperation of the linearized gas flow and the Pareto optimizer I-HAPM, the computational quality and efficiency of the Pareto solution set is improved. In the second stage, a tailored compromise solution for operation is determined from the Pareto solution set according to real dispatch requirements, which is convexified with the penalty convex–concave procedure to guarantee the operation security. Case studies demonstrate that the MOEGF effectively reduces carbon emissions and influence on air pollution of the combined system, with a low-level cost sacrifice. Besides, the effectiveness of the two-stage Pareto optimization is validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power industry of China plays an important role in reducing the carbon dioxide (CO 2) and air pollutant emissions. This paper focuses on synergistic CO 2 and air pollution emission reduction by implementing technical and structural measures, and explores the processes aimed at achieving the co-benefits of carbon reduction and air pollution control effectively in the power industry at a local level. The results of the analysis show that the structural measures achieve overall co-benefits, and the technical measures have a good effect in reducing the air pollution, but simultaneously increase CO 2 emissions because of the additional electricity used for running air pollution control devices (APCDs). Based on the analysis of the power generation incremental cost and pollutant emission reduction cost, cost-effective approaches to attain different emission reduction targets are proposed to the power industry in four case regions. These approaches can provide policy makers and stakeholders useful and relevant policy and operation recommendations to reduce CO 2 and air pollution emissions cost-effectively and promote low carbon sustainability in the power industry of China. • China's power industry plays an important role in reducing CO 2 and air pollutants. • Technical and structural measures of reducing CO 2 and air pollutants are analyzed. • Structural measures achieve overall co-benefits. • Technical measures have a good effect in reducing pollutants, but increase CO 2. • Cost-effective approaches are formed to cut CO2 and air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new indicator to evaluate total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is proposed. • China's total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is relatively low and exhibits significant differences in different regions. • China's total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is driven by technical progress rather than efficiency promotion. • The total-factor air pollution emission efficiency gap among China's different provinces will probably widen in the future. • The factors that influencing China's provincial total-factor air pollution emission efficiency are revealed. In recent years, air pollution situation becomes more severe and has seriously threatened sustainable economic development and public health in China. Combining the improved slacks-based measure (SBM) model, global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) productivity index and panel Tobit model, this paper investigates the regional differences, dynamic evolution and influencing factors of China's provincial air pollution emission efficiency over the period 2006–2015 under the total-factor framework. Our results show that: (1) China's total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is relatively low and exhibits significant regional differences; (2) technological progress is the main contributor to ameliorate China's provincial total-factor air pollution emission efficiency; (3) the total-factor air pollution emission efficiency gap between the higher- and the lower-efficient provinces will probably widen in the future; (4) China's provincial total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is significantly positive related to the level of economic development, industrial structure optimization, technological innovation and foreign direct investment (FDI), is significantly negative related to the energy consumption structure. The above results indicate that China has made remarkable achievements in improving regional total-factor air pollution emission efficiency. However, there is considerable potential for further improvement. Policy options for China's regional total-factor air pollution emission efficiency improvement include but not limited to optimizing industrial and energy consumption structure, promoting environmental technology innovation, strengthening cooperation and exchange between different regions, deepening the reform of energy market and energy pricing mechanism, actively introducing foreign investment, and further improving environmental regulation level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future trends in air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for China are of great concern to the community. A set of global scenarios regarding future socio-economic and climate developments, combining shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) with climate forcing outcomes as described by the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), was created by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Chinese researchers have also developed various emission scenarios by considering detailed local environmental and climate policies. However, a comprehensive scenario set connecting SSP–RCP scenarios with local policies and representing dynamic emission changes under local policies is still missing. In this work, to fill this gap, we developed a dynamic projection model, the Dynamic Projection model for Emissions in China (DPEC), to explore China's future anthropogenic emission pathways. The DPEC is designed to integrate the energy system model, emission inventory model, dynamic projection model, and parameterized scheme of Chinese policies. The model contains two main modules, an energy-model-driven activity rate projection module and a sector-based emission projection module. The activity rate projection module provides the standardized and unified future energy scenarios after reorganizing and refining the outputs from the energy system model. Here we use a new China-focused version of the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM-China) to project future energy demand and supply in China under different SSP–RCP scenarios at the provincial level. The emission projection module links a bottom-up emission inventory model, the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC), to GCAM-China and accurately tracks the evolution of future combustion and production technologies and control measures under different environmental policies. We developed technology-based turnover models for several key emitting sectors (e.g. coal-fired power plants, key industries, and on-road transportation sectors), which can simulate the dynamic changes in the unit/vehicle fleet turnover process by tracking the lifespan of each unit/vehicle on an annual basis. With the integrated modelling framework, we connected five SSP scenarios (SSP1–5), five RCP scenarios (RCP8.5, 7.0, 6.0, 4.5, and 2.6), and three pollution control scenarios (business as usual, BAU; enhanced control policy, ECP; and best health effect, BHE) to produce six combined emission scenarios. With those scenarios, we presented a wide range of China's future emissions to 2050 under different development and policy pathways. We found that, with a combination of strong low-carbon policy and air pollution control policy (i.e. SSP1-26-BHE scenario), emissions of major air pollutants (i.e. SO2 , NOx , PM 2.5 , and non-methane volatile organic compounds – NMVOCs) in China will be reduced by 34 %–66 % in 2030 and 58 %–87 % in 2050 compared to 2015. End-of-pipe control measures are more effective for reducing air pollutant emissions before 2030, while low-carbon policy will play a more important role in continuous emission reduction until 2050. In contrast, China's emissions will remain at a high level until 2050 under a reference scenario without active actions (i.e. SSP3-70-BAU). Compared to similar scenarios set from the CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6), our estimates of emission ranges are much lower than the estimates from the harmonized CMIP6 emissions dataset in 2020–2030, but their emission ranges become similar in the year 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fuel combustion significantly contributes to global and US mortality. Traditional control strategies typically reduce emissions for specific air pollutants and sectors to maintain pollutant concentrations below standards. Here we directly set national PM2.5 mortality cost reduction targets within a global human-earth system model with US state-level energy systems, in scenarios to 2050, to identify endogenously the control actions, sectors, and locations that most cost-effectively reduce PM2.5 mortality. We show that substantial health benefits can be cost-effectively achieved by electrifying sources with high primary PM2.5 emission intensities, including industrial coal, building biomass, and industrial liquids. More stringent PM2.5 reduction targets expedite the phaseout of high emission intensity sources, leading to larger declines in major pollutant emissions, but very limited co-benefits in reducing CO2 emissions. Control strategies limiting health damages achieve the greatest emission reductions in the East North Central and Middle Atlantic states. Decoupling emission reduction target determination, air pollution modelling, and health benefit estimation complicates control strategy design. Here an integrated approach identifies strategies to reduce health damages of air pollution, showing that benefits can be achieved cost-effectively by electrifying sources with high primary PM2.5 emission intensities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The growth in the world economy has resulted in an increase in environmental pollution and ecological destruction in many parts of the world. In particular, economic development in mainland China in recent years has seen a massive rise in environmental pollution such as particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NO2) in many cities; as a result, there has been an increased focus on air pollution and carbon dioxide emission control in recent years. This study used 2013–2017 energy consumption data from 31 cities in China to examine overall and specific efficiencies, for which employees, fixed assets, and energy consumption were taken as the input indicators, and gross domestic product (GDP) and the PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 levels as the output indicators. It was found that from 2013 to 2017, only four cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanning, and Shanghai) had total efficiency scores of 1, with all other cities needing efficiency improvements. The efficiency scores for the different pollutants varied widely, with the NO2 efficiencies being generally higher with less improvement needed, while the SO2 and PM2.5 efficiencies required significantly greater governance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the viability of cooperative policies oriented to the resolution of transboundary pollution problems using the theory of private provision of public goods in a two-country model. We analyze the effects on economic welfare of voluntary technological transfers oriented to reducing the emission of pollutants. Our analysis shows that when the atmosphere is taken as a pure public goods, 'astrong paradox' emerges: the advanced country, in spite of the transfer, sees its economic welfare improved while the developing country sees it worsen. Moreover, if both a technical and an income transfer occur, this paradox might not be solved. Furthermore, 'a paradoxical improvement' occurs when the advanced country does not take any policy towards the environment but the developing country does: an improvement in the level of technology in the developing country allows for an expansion of the level of utility in both countries. On the other hand, in the case where the atmosphere is taken as an impure public goods, when both countries pursue an abatement policy, the transfer oftechnology leads to an improvement in welfare in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates in detail the design parameters of the two most prominent US cap-and-trade permit program - the US EPA Sulfur Allowance Trading Program and the South Californian Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM). In contrast to expectations the two programs turn out to be rather different in several important design parameter choices. Common elements emerge primarily in the existence of anambitious, quantified environmental target, mandatory use of stringent emission monitoring methods and stiff penalties for non-compliance, coexisting command-and-control regulations, the creation of a competitive permit market structure, and some distributional concessions in the initial permit allocation. Generalizing from these common features we find that provisions to assure political acceptance, functional interdependencies and overlapping regulation are the most importantinfluences on the design of applied cap-and-trade permit programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission has proposed air quality standards for NO2, SO2 and PM10 to be in force by 2010.The present paper presents a study that gauged their costs and benefits. An analysis of the expected emissions for 2010 (reference emission scenario), using simplified air quality models, showed that non-compliance with these standards will occur in cities only, not in ruralareas. Most compliance problems are expected for PM10, least for SO2. Central estimates of the costs to meet standards range from 21 MECU (SO2), to 79 MECU (NO2) to 87-225 MECU (PM10). The estimated benefits are 83-3783 MECU (SO2), 408-5900 MECU (NO2), and 5007-51247MECU (PM10). Uncertainties are high, due to errors and incertitude in various steps of the methodology, mainly the estimation of the human health effects, in particular effects on mortality, and in the valuation of a statistical life. In the case of PM10, additional uncertainty results from the small size of the air quality database. Notwithstanding the uncertainties, the indications are that the benefits exceed the costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2015 winter month of December, northern China witnessed the most severe air pollution phenomena since the 2013 winter haze events occurred. This triggered the first-ever red alert in the air pollution control history of Beijing, with an instantaneous fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration over 1 mgm-3. Air quality observations reveal large temporal-spatial variations in PM2.5 concentrations over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) area between 2014 and 2015. Compared to 2014, the PM2.5 concentrations over the area decreased significantly in all months except November and December of 2015, with an increase of 36% in December. Analysis shows that the PM2.5 concentrations are significantly correlated with the local meteorological parameters in the Jing-Jin-Ji area such as the stable conditions, relative humidity (RH), and wind field. A comparison of two month simulations (December 2014 and 2015) with the same emission data was performed to explore and quantify the meteorological impacts on the PM2:5 over the Jing-Jin-Ji area. Observation and modeling results show that the worsening meteorological conditions are the main reasons behind this unusual increase of air pollutant concentrations and that the emission control measures taken during this period of time have contributed to mitigate the air pollution (∼9%) in the region. This work provides a scientific insight into the emission control measures vs. the meteorology impacts for the period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are nowadays of great importance. In particular air and water quality should be kept at as high levels as possible. Energy conversion systems and devices which are applied for converting the chemical energy contained in different fuels into heat, electricity and cold in the industry and housing are sources of different gases and solid particle emissions. Medical data show PM2.5 dust in particular is highly dangerous for human health. Therefore, limiting the number of low-quality fuel combustion processes is a key issue of modern energy policy. Statistical data show that domestic heating systems account for a large share of the total emissions of PM2.5 and PM10 dust. For example in Poland in 2017, the share of households in the total annual emissions of PM2.5 dust was equal to ca. 35.8%, while the share of PM2.5 emission in industry (i.e., power generating plants, industrial power plants and technologies) was equal to only 23.6%. A possible way of solving this problem is by the successful replacement of old domestic furnaces by combined heat and power (CHP) or multigeneration boilers which can be used for heating the rooms and sanitary water and generating electricity and cold. Such systems can possibly contribute in the future to significant reductions of dust emissions and air pollution in urban and rural areas by limiting the number of low-quality fuel combustion processes. This article presents design considerations and experimental results related to a domestic micro-CHP unit which is based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology. The main aim of the design works and experiments was therefore the analysis of the possibility of integrating the ORC system with a standard domestic central heating gas-fired boiler. The specially designed micro-ORC system was implemented in the laboratory and experiments were performed using this test stand. The main design aims of the test-stand were: low operating pressure, small working fluid flow, low price and compact dimensions. To meet these aims, volumetric machines were chosen as the expander and working fluid pump. The experimental results were positive and show that it is possible to integrate an ORC system with a standard domestic central heating gas boiler. For different heat source temperatures, the obtained expander power ranged from 109 W to 241 W and the thermodynamic cycle efficiency ranged from 4.3% to 8.8%. These positive research results were achieved partly thanks to the positive features of the different system subassemblies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]