Global Air Quality and Health Co-benefits of Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change through Methane and Black Carbon Emission Controls

Anenberg, Susan C.; Schwartz, Joel; Shindell, D. T.; Amann, Markus; Faluvegi, G.; Klimont, Zbigniew; Janssens‐Maenhout, Greet; Pozzoli, Luca; Dingenen, Rita Van; Vignati, E.; Emberson, Lisa; Muller, Nicholas Z.; West, J. Jason; Martin, Williams; Demkine, Volodymyr; Hicks, W. Kevin; Kuylenstierna, Johan; Raes, Frank; Ramanathan, V.

doi:10.1289/ehp.1104301

Cited by 377 publications

(268 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The uncertainty is ±80 % for the composition-health impacts based on uncertainty in the epidemiological concentration-response functions and differences in the modeled concentration response to emissions changes (UNEP 2011; Anenberg et al, 2012).…”

Section: Composition-health Valuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social cost of atmospheric release

2015

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I present a multi-impact economic valuation framework called the Social Cost of Atmospheric Release (SCAR) that extends the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) used previously for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to a broader range of pollutants and impacts. Values consistently incorporate health impacts of air quality along with climate damages. The latter include damages associated with aerosol-induced hydrologic cycle changes that lead to net climate benefits when reducing cooling aerosols. Evaluating a 1 % reduction in current global emissions, benefits with a high discount rate are greatest for reductions of co-emitted products of incomplete combustion (PIC), followed by sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and then CO 2 , ammonia and methane. With a low discount rate, benefits are greatest for PIC, with CO 2 and SO 2 next, followed by NO x and methane. These results suggest that efforts to mitigate atmosphere-related environmental damages should target a broad set of emissions including CO 2 , methane and aerosol/ozone precursors. Illustrative calculations indicate environmental damages are $330-970 billion yr −1 for current US electricity generation (~14-34¢ per kWh for coal,~4-18¢ for gas) and $3.80 (−1.80/+2.10) per gallon of gasoline ($4.80 (−3.10/+3.50) per gallon for diesel). These results suggest that total atmosphere-related environmental damages plus generation costs are much greater for coal-fired power than other types of electricity generation, and that damages associated with gasoline vehicles substantially exceed those for electric vehicles.

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Section: Composition-health Valuationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social cost of atmospheric release

2015

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“…There is well-documented evidence that exposure to PM results in adverse effects on human health (e.g. Anenberg et al, 2012;Lim et al, 2012;WHO, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

et al. 2017

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Abstract. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of historical global anthropogenic particulate matter (PM) emissions including the consistent and harmonized calculation of mass-based size distribution (PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), as well as primary carbonaceous aerosols including black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC). The estimates were developed with the integrated assessment model GAINS, where source-and region-specific technology characteristics are explicitly included. This assessment includes a number of previously unaccounted or often misallocated emission sources, i.e. kerosene lamps, gas flaring, diesel generators, refuse burning; some of them were reported in the past for selected regions or in the context of a particular pollutant or sector but not included as part of a total estimate. Spatially, emissions were calculated for 172 source regions (as well as international shipping), presented for 25 global regions, and allocated to 0.5 • × 0.5 • longitude-latitude grids. No independent estimates of emissions from forest fires and savannah burning are provided and neither windblown dust nor unpaved roads emissions are included.We estimate that global emissions of PM have not changed significantly between 1990 and 2010, showing a strong decoupling from the global increase in energy consumption and, consequently, CO 2 emissions, but there are significantly different regional trends, with a particularly strong increase in East Asia and Africa and a strong decline in Europe, North America, and the Pacific region. This in turn resulted in important changes in the spatial pattern of PM burden, e.g. European, North American, and Pacific contributions to global emissions dropped from nearly 30 % in 1990 to well below 15 % in 2010, while Asia's contribution grew from just over 50 % to nearly two-thirds of the global total in 2010. For all PM species considered, Asian sources represented over 60 % of the global anthropogenic total, and residential combustion was the most important sector, contributing about 60 % for BC and OC, 45 % for PM 2.5 , and less than 40 % for PM 10 , where large combustion sources and industrial processes are equally important. Global anthropogenic emissions of BC were estimated at about 6.6 and 7.2 Tg in 2000 and 2010, respectively, and represent about 15 % of PM 2.5 but for some sources reach nearly 50 %, i.e. for the transport sector. Our global BC numbers are higher than previously published owing primarily to the inclusion of new sources.This PM estimate fills the gap in emission data and emission source characterization required in air quality and climate modelling studies and health impact assessments at a regional and global level, as it includes both carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous constituents of primary particulate matter emissions. The developed emission dataset has been used in several regional and global atmospheric transport and climate model simulations within the ECLIPSE (Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Short-Lived Pollutants) project and beyo...

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“…Carbonaceous aerosols are now of worldwide concern for their direct and indirect impacts on global and regional climate change, visibility degradation, air quality, and public health (Anenberg et al, 2012;Chung et al, 2012;Mahowald, 2011). Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) are two main fractions of carbonaceous species in the air.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon-based impact assessment of open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in North China

Zong

Chen

Tian

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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• PM 2.5 and TSP samples collected at Yellow River Delta were analyzed for OC and EC.• OC, EC, TSP and PM 2.5 concentrations were higher in daytime than in nighttime.• Radiocarbon ( 14 C) tracer, backward trajectories, and fire counts were used for the analysis.• Agricultural waste open burning was a main contributor to summer PM 2.5 , OC and EC. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Samples of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) were collected from 29th May to 1st July, 2013 at a regional background site in Bohai Rim, North China. Mass concentrations of particulate matter and carbonaceous species showed a total of 50% and 97% of the measured TSP and PM 2.5 levels exceeded the first grade national standard of China, respectively. Daily concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were detected 7.3 and 2.5 μg m −3 in TSP and 5.2 and 2.0 μg m −3 in PM 2.5 , which accounted 5.8% and 2.0% of TSP while 5.6% and 2.2% for PM 2.5 , respectively. The concentrations of OC, EC, TSP and PM 2.5 were observed higher in the day time than those in the night time. The observations were associated with the emission variations from anthropogenic activities. Two merged samples representing from south and north source areas were selected for radiocarbon analysis. The radiocarbon measurements showed 74% of water-insoluble OC (WINSOC) and 59% of EC in PM 2.5 derived from biomass burning and biogenic sources when the air masses were from south region, and 63% and 48% for the air masses from north, respectively. Combined with backward trajectories and daily burned area, open burning of agricultural wastes was found to be predominating, which was confirmed by the potential source contribution function (PSCF).

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Global Air Quality and Health Co-benefits of Mitigating Near-Term Climate Change through Methane and Black Carbon Emission Controls

Cited by 377 publications

References 33 publications

The social cost of atmospheric release

The social cost of atmospheric release

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

Radiocarbon-based impact assessment of open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in North China

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