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Considering that the promotion of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) is a potential measure to address urban air pollution, the Chinese government has launched subsidy schemes to improve its market penetration. The purpose of this study is to quantify the economic benefits of NEV promotion from 2016 to 2019 and compare them with the cost of government subsidies in Beijing, so the effectiveness of the NEV policies can be evaluated and valuable recommendations can be provided for decision-making. The exposure-response model and the cost of illness approach was applied to evaluate the health and economic benefits of NEV promotion. Our results are as follows: (1) promoting NEVs can reduce the PM 2.5 concentration significantly, the average annual concentration reduction was between 3.23 μg/m 3 and 4.61 μg/m 3 ; (2) at least 37,545 illnesses and deaths in Beijing could be reduced through NEV promotion annually, internal disease (15-64) was the most affected illness; (3) the economic benefits of NEV promotion were far more than the cost and the net benefits stock reached 33.71 billion CNY in 2019, accounting for 0.95% of Beijing's GDP in the same period. This study provides references in the perspective of environmental economics for the policy formulation of promoting NEVs.

Based on the extended STIRPAT model, this paper examines social and economic factors regarding PM 2.5 concentration intensity in 255 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2016, and includes quantile regressions to analyze the different effects of these factors among cities of various sizes. The results indicate that: (1) during 2007-2016, urban PM 2.5 concentration exhibited declining trends in fluctuations concerning the development of the urban economy, accompanied by uncertainty under different city types; (2) population size has a significant effect on propelling PM 2.5 concentration; (3) the effect of structure reformation on PM 2.5 concentration is evident among cities with different populations and levels of economic development; and (4) foreign investment and scientific technology can significantly reduce PM 2.5 emission concentration in cities. Accordingly, local governments not only endeavor to further control population size, but should implement a recycling economy, and devise a viable urban industrial structure. The city governance policies for PM 2.5 concentration reduction require re-classification according to different population scales. Cities with large populations (i.e., over 10 million) should consider reducing their energy consumption. Medium population-sized cities (between 1 million and 10 million) should indeed implement effective population (density) control policies, while cities with small populations (less than 1 million) should focus on promoting sustainable urban development to stop environmental pollution from secondary industry sources.

Ninety-six particulate matter (PM10) chemical source profiles for geological sources in typical cities of southwest China were acquired from Source Profile Shared Service in China. Twenty-six elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Be, Tl and Pb), nine ions (F-, Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+), and carbon-containing species (organic carbon and elemental carbon) were determined to construct these profiles. Individual source profiles were averaged and compared to quantify similarities and differences in chemical abundances using the profile-compositing method. Overall, the major components of PM10 in geological sources were crustal minerals and undefined fraction. Different chemical species could be used as tracers for various types of geological dust in the region that resulted from different anthropogenic influence. For example, elemental carbon, V and Zn could be used as tracers for urban paved road dust; Al, Si, K+ and NH4+ for agricultural soil; Al and Si for natural soil; and SO42- for urban resuspended dust. The enrichment factor analysis showed that Cu, Se, Sr and Ba were highly enriched by human activities in geological dust samples from south-west China. Elemental ratios were taken to highlight the features of geological dust from south-west China by comparing with northern urban fugitive dust, loess and desert samples. Low Si/Al and Fe/Al ratios can be used as markers to trace geological sources from southwestern China. High Pb/Al and Zn/Al ratios observed in urban areas demonstrated that urban geological dust was influenced seriously by non-crustal sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]