Modeling Air Pollutant Emissions in the Provincial Level Road Transportation Sector in Korea: A Case Study of the Zero-Emission Vehicle Subsidy

Abstract

South Korea has been suffering from high PM2.5 pollution. Previous studies have contributed to establishing PM2.5 mitigation policies but have not considered provincial features and sector-interactions. In that sense, the integrated assessment model (IAM) could complement the shortcomings of previous studies. IAM, capable of analyzing PM2.5 pollution levels at the provincial level in Korea, however, has not been developed yet. Hence, this study (i) expands on IAM which can represent provincial-level spatial resolution in Korea (GCAM-Korea) with air pollutant emissions modeling which focuses on the road transportation sector and (ii) examines the zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) subsidy policy’s effects on PM2.5 mitigation using the expanded GCAM-Korea. Simulation results show that PM2.5 emissions decrease by 0.6–4.1% compared to the baseline, and the Seoul metropolitan area contributes 38–44% to the overall PM2.5 emission reductions. As the ZEVs subsidy is weighted towards the light-duty vehicle 4-wheels (LDV4W) sector, various spillover effects are found: ZEVs’ share rises intensively in the LDV4W sector leading to an increase in its service costs, and at the same time, driving bus service costs to become relatively cheaper. This, in turn, drives an increase in bus service demand and emissions discharge. Furthermore, this type of impact of the ZEVs subsidy policy does not reduce internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) in freight trucks, although diesel freight trucks are a major contributor to PM2.5 emissions and also to NOx.

Demand Response Program Expansion in Korea through Particulate Matter Forecasting Based on Deep Learning and Fuzzy Inference

“…However, the proposed model would have an upper output of 730% over a total of 28 days (Figure 10b), whereas the previous method would have an upper output of approximately 400% over a total of four days (Figure 10a). These results are conducive to recognizing the environment like previous studies conducted due to a lot of interest in air pollution and environmental issues [32][33][34][35]; However, as already mentioned, there is a conflict of interest for power generation companies when applying the proposed model between the environmental and economic market operation related to the benefit of coal generators. Therefore, it is necessary to consider policy supplementation to preserve the interests of coal-fired power generation companies or develop incentive systems through the intervention of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) or the market operator KPX.…”

“…However, the proposed model would have an upper output of 730% over a total of 28 days (Figure 10b), whereas the previous method would have an upper output of approximately 400% over a total of four days (Figure 10a). These results are conducive to recognizing the environment like previous studies conducted due to a lot of interest in air pollution and environmental issues [32][33][34][35]; however, it can be fatal to the coal-fired power generation operators due to an output limit of approximately 1.8 times greater than the existing program. As a result, new challenges may arise for which appropriate solutions are required to avoid conflicting interests among stakeholders.…”

Using the Sustainable Development Goals to Evaluate Possible Transport Policies for the City of Curitiba

“…As illustrated in Figure 4, subsidies for ZEVs and energy efficient vehicles have positive linkages with several SDGs. For example, it can contribute to the reduction in air pollution in cities, mainly NH 3 , NOx, and PM 2.5 [41], incentivize the uptake of energy efficient vehicles, and increase the amount of renewable energy in the energy mix. This policy may also have a positive impact on SDG 13, however this will depend on the emission intensity of the electricity used to power the BEVs or produce hydrogen [42].…”

The Relationship between Roadside PM Concentration and Traffic Characterization: A Case Study in Macao

“…Traffic-related emissions are a significant component of airborne pollution, and the measurement and analysis of real-world vehicle emissions have been used due to the fact that conventional drive cycle testing is not considered representative of vehicles under realworld driving conditions [7]. A study in South Korea shows that PM 2.5 emissions decreased by 0.6 to 4.1% under the subsidy policy for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), including electric battery vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) for cars, buses, motorcycles, and freight trucks, but it did not reduce diesel freight trucks, which is a major contributor to PM 2.5 and NOx [8]. The overall average of PM 2.5 mass is slightly higher than those measured in the urban site [9].…”