Co-benefits of carbon and pollution control policies on air quality and health till 2030 in China.

Facing the dual challenges of climate change and air pollution, China has made great efforts to explore the co-control strategies for the both. We assessed the benefits of carbon and pollution control policies on air quality and human health, with an integrated framework combining an energy-economic model, an air quality model and a concentration-response model. With a base year 2015, seven combined scenarios were developed for 2030 based on three energy scenarios and three end-of-pipe control ones. Policy-specific benefits were then evaluated, indicated by the reduced emissions, surface concentrations of major pollutants, and premature deaths between scenarios. Compared to the 2030 baseline scenario, the nationwide PM _2.5 - and O ₃ -related mortality was expected to decline 23% or 289 (95% confidence interval: 220-360) thousand in the most stringent scenario, and three quarters of the avoided deaths were attributed to the end-of-pipe control measures. Provinces in heavily polluted and densely populated regions would benefit more from carbon and pollution control strategies. The population fractions with PM _2.5 exposure under the national air quality standard (35 μg/m ³ ) and WHO guideline (10 μg/m ³ ) would be doubled from 2015 to 2030 (the most stringent scenario), while still very few people would live in areas with the WHO guideline achieved for O ₃ (100 μg/m ³ ). Increased health impact of O ₃ suggested a great significance of joint control of PM _2.5 and O ₃ in future policy-making.
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