1. Substantial emission reductions from Chinese power plants after the introduction of ultra-low emissions standards
- Author
-
Tang, L, Qu, J, Mi, Z, Bo, X, Chang, X, Anadon, LD, Wang, S, Xue, X, Li, S, Wang, X, Zhao, X, Tang, L [0000-0002-2522-9675], Mi, Z [0000-0001-8106-0694], Bo, X [0000-0001-8650-1882], Chang, X [0000-0001-9225-0477], Wang, S [0000-0001-5773-998X], Xue, X [0000-0002-0392-014X], and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
- Subjects
13 Climate Action ,4008 Electrical Engineering ,40 Engineering ,4017 Mechanical Engineering - Abstract
In 2014, China introduced an ultra-low emissions (ULE) standards policy for renovating coal-fired power-generating units to limit SO2, NOX and PM emissions to 35, 50 and 10 mg m-3, respectively. The ULE standard policy had ambitious levels (surpassing those of all other countries) and implementation timeline. We estimate emission reductions associated with the ULE policy by constructing a nationwide, unit-level, hourly-frequency emissions dataset using data from a continuous emission monitoring systems network covering 96-98% of Chinese thermal power capacity during 2014-2017. We find that between 2014 and 2017 China’s annual power emissions of SO2, NOX and PM dropped by 65%, 60% and 72%, respectively. Our estimated emissions using actual monitoring data are 18-92% below other recent estimates. We detail the technologies used to meet the ULE standards and the determinants of compliance, underscoring the importance of ex-post evaluation and providing insights for other countries wishing to reduce their power emissions.
- Published
- 2019