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Background and objectives Public health co-benefits from curbing climate change can make greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategies more attractive and increase their implementation. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the evidence of these health co-benefits to improve our understanding of the mitigation measures involved, potential mechanisms, and relevant uncertainties. Methods A comprehensive search for peer-reviewed studies published in English was conducted using the primary electronic databases. Reference lists from these articles were reviewed and manual searches were performed to supplement relevant studies. The identified records were screened based on inclusion criteria. We extracted data from the final retrieved papers using a pre-designed data extraction form and a quality assessment was conducted. The studies were heterogeneities, so meta-analysis was not possible and instead evidence was synthesized using narrative summaries. Results Thirty-six studies were identified. We identified GHG mitigation strategies in five domains – energy generation, transportation, food and agriculture, households, and industry and economy – which usually, although not always, bring co-benefits for public health. These health gains are likely to be multiplied by comprehensive measures that include more than one sectors. Conclusions GHG mitigation strategies can bring about substantial and possibly cost-effective public health co-benefits. These findings are highly relevant to policy makers and other stakeholders since they point to the compounding value of taking concerted action against climate change and air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has gained widespread attention, and the rapid growth of the economy in China has generated a considerable amount of carbon emissions. Zhejiang Province was selected as a study area. First, the energy-related carbon emissions from 2000 to 2014 were accounted for, and then the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition model was applied to analyse the driving factors underlying the carbon emissions. Finally, three scenarios (inertia, comparative decoupling and absolute decoupling) for 2020 and 2030 were simulated based on the low-carbon city and Human Impact Population Affluence Technology (IPAT) models. The results showed (1) carbon emissions increased by 1.66 times from 2000 to 2014, and trends of carbon emissions were used to divide the study period into three phases (rapid, medium growth and slow decrease phases, with annual growth rates of 12.60%, 4.77% and -1.24%, respectively); (2) the energy intensity effect from 2000-2011 inhibited carbon emissions but was exceeded by the economic output effect, which increased emissions, whereas the energy intensity effect from 2011-2014 outweighed the economic output effect; (3) the scenario analyses revealed that both the comparative and absolute decoupling scenarios would remain consistent with the carbon emissions boundaries in 2020 and 2030, but the comparative decoupling scenario was more reasonable for sustainable development. In addition, appropriate design of emission trading scheme could help to achieve the comparative decoupling by financial incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although its per-capita carbon emissions are still relatively low, China's aggregated carbon emissions have grown nearly four-fold in the last three decades, and now it is the biggest CO2 emitter in the world. There are many reasons for this emissions growth, and much emphasis has been placed on industrial development, but previous research has estimated that 40% of the growth in Chinese CO2 emissions over the 15 years to 2007 can be attributed to household energy consumption. Here we conduct a decomposition analysis to show that in the period from 1978 to 2008 nearly 60% of the growth in Chinese household emissions can be attributed to the increasing number of households and 40% to increasing emissions per household. We also show that over this period emissions growth in urban households has been six times that of rural households. These results have important implications for policy-makers seeking to promote reductions in China's CO2 emissions, relating for example to family planning and urbanization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal changes in the levels of PM and its main components (organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), SO, NO and NH) were studied in an urban street canyon in southeastern Spain. Although PM levels did not show an evident seasonal cycle, strong variations in the concentrations of its major components were observed. Ammonium sulfate, the main secondary inorganic compound, was found to be of regional origin. Its formation was favored during summer due to increased photochemical activity. In contrast, the concentrations of particulate ammonium nitrate, which is thermally unstable, were highest in winter. Although traffic emissions are the dominant source of EC in the city, variations in traffic intensity could not explain the seasonal cycle of this component. The higher EC concentrations during the cold months were attributed to the lower dispersion conditions and the increase in EC emissions. Special attention has been given to variations in organic carbon levels since it accounted for about one third of the total PM mass. The concentrations of both total OC and secondary OC (SOC) were maxima in winter. The observed seasonal variation in SOC levels is similar to that found in other southern European cities where the frequency of sunny days in winter is high enough to promote photochemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]