Climate impacts of emission reductions in China during 2013–2017

Abstract

Abstract. China has implemented a sequence of policies for clean air since year 2013 and the aerosol pollution has been substantially improved, but ozone (O3) related issues arose. Here, climate responses to changes in aerosols and O3 related to the emission reductions over China during 2013–2017 are investigated using the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2). The overall decreases in aerosols produced an anomalous warming of 0.09 ± 0.10 °C in eastern China (22° N–40° N, 110° E–122.5° E), which is further enhanced by the increase in O3 in the lower troposphere, resulting in an accelerated warming of 0.16 ± 0.15 °C in eastern China. Reductions in industrial emissions contributed the most to the aerosol-induced warming, while emission reductions from residential sector induced a cooling effect due to a substantial decrease in light-absorbing black carbon aerosols. It implies that switching residential sector to cleaner energy is more effective to achieve climate and health co-benefits in China.