Emission trends and mitigation options for air pollutants in East Asia

Abstract

Abstract. Emissions of air pollutants in East Asia play an important role in the regional and global atmospheric environment. In this study we evaluated the recent emission trends of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) in East Asia, and projected their future emissions up until 2030 with six emission scenarios. The results will provide future emission projections for the modeling community of the model inter-comparison program for Asia (MICS-Asia). During 2005–2010, the emissions of SO2 and PM2.5 in East Asia decreased by 15 and 12%, respectively, mainly attributable to the large-scale deployment of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) at China's power plants, and the promotion of highly efficient PM removal technologies in China's power plants and cement industry. During this period, the emissions of NOx and NMVOC increased by 25 and 15%, driven by rapid increase in the emissions from China due to inadequate control strategies. In contrast, the NOx and NMVOC emissions in East Asia except China decreased by 13–17%, mainly due to the implementation of stringent vehicle emission standards in Japan and South Korea. Under current regulations and current levels of implementation, NOx, SO2, and NMVOC emissions in East Asia are projected to increase by about one-quarter over 2010 levels by 2030, while PM2.5 emissions are expected to decrease by 7%. Assuming enforcement of new energy-saving policies, emissions of NOx, SO2, PM2.5 and NMVOC in East Asia are expected to decrease by 28, 36, 28, and 15%, respectively, compared with the baseline case. The implementation of "progressive" end-of-pipe control measures would lead to another one-third reduction of the baseline emissions of NOx, and about one-quarter reduction of SO2, PM2.5, and NMVOC. Assuming the full application of technically feasible energy-saving policies and end-of-pipe control technologies, the emissions of NOx, SO2, and PM2.5 in East Asia would account for only about one-quarter, and NMVOC for one-third, of the levels of the baseline projection. Compared with previous projections, this study projects larger reductions in NOx and SO2 emissions by considering aggressive governmental plans and standards scheduled to be implemented in the next decade, and quantifies the significant effects of detailed progressive control measures on NMVOC emissions up until 2030.

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

“…The interpretation of the laws and translation into the set of GAINS technologies with the associated emission rates under average operating conditions has been discussed previously in a number of papers and assessments addressing regional Klimont et al, 2009;Kupiainen and Klimont, 2007;Wang et al, 2014) and global Cofala et al, 2007;Rao et al, 2013;Riahi et al, 2012; UNEP/WMO, 2011) emissions.…”

“…Industrial combustion is associated with several sectors for which small boilers are also included to capture the large numbers of often old and poorly controlled solid-fuel grate-firing boilers in the developing countries (e.g. Wang et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2013); for example, in China they accounted for about 85 % of all industrial boilers ). For industrial coal use lower reductions in average emission factors were achieved than for power plants, with the exception of eastern Europe and some former Soviet Union countries where the collapse of heavy industry in the period 1990-2000 resulted in a decline of emission factors by over 90 % compared to 1990.…”

“…Additionally, specific regional and national laws and policy implementation studies were reviewed, i.e. for the European Union a number of directives were considered (Crippa et al, 2016;EC, 2001aEC, , b, 2010Krasenbrink and Dobranskyte-Niskota, 2008), for Asia several peer-reviewed studies (Goel and Guttikunda, 2015;Guttikunda and Jawahar, 2014;Huo et al, 2011Huo et al, , 2012Klimont et al, 2009;Liu et al, 2015;Lu et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2006) as well as other sources (CAI-Asia, 2011;CPCB, 2007;IIDFC, 2009); for Latin America and Caribbean additional information was obtained for the brick sector (e.g. Stratus Consulting, 2014) and also for Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico for the transport sector (e.g.…”

Comparison and evaluation of anthropogenic emissions of SO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> over China

“…last decade Hoesly et al, 2018). To support chemical transport modeling and provide scientific basis for policy-making, several emission inventories covering China have been developed (Streets et al, 2003;Ohara et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 2007Zhang et al, , 2009Lu et al, 2010Lu et al, , 2011Kurokawa et al, 2013;Klimont et al, 2009Klimont et al, , 2013Wang et al, 2014;EDGAR v4.2, available at http: //edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu).…”

Seasonal variation and chemical characterization of PM<sub>2.5</sub> in northwestern Philippines

“…Increasing industrial emission and open burning of biomass and solid waste have shifted much interest in the local, regional and global transport of aerosol in Asia (Akimoto, 2003;Smith et al, 2011;Wang et al, 2014;Huang et al, 2013;Field and Shen, 2008). Aerosols are known not only for their impacts on health (Pope et al, 2002;Lelieveld et al, 2015;Jerrett, 2015; 15 Silva et al, 2013), but also on its effects on Earth's energy budget (Ramanathan et al, 2013;Hansen et al, 1997;Chung et al, 2010).…”