Co-benefits of peaking carbon dioxide emissions on air quality and health, a case of Guangzhou, China

Cities play a key role in making carbon emission reduction targets achievable and tackling air pollution. Using Guangzhou city as a case, this paper explored the air quality and health co-benefits of peaking carbon dioxide emissions under three scenarios and developed an integrated assessment framework by combining a local air pollutant emission inventory, an atmospheric chemistry transport model, and a health assessment model. The results showed that SO2, PM10, and PM2.5 could achieve larger emission reductions than NH3, VOCs, and NOx among all the scenarios we examined. Under the enhanced peaking scenario with the most stringent mitigation strategies, Guangzhou could meet the local ambient air quality standard for PM2.5 (34 mu g/m(3)), with the most reduction observed in the annual average PM2.5 concentration (28.4%) and related premature deaths (17.08%), compared with the base year 2015. We also identified hotspot grids, which were areas with high concentrations of carbon emissions, high concentrations of air pollution and poor air quality in Guangzhou. Our analysis highlighted the importance of promoting peaking carbon dioxide emission for the improvement of air quality and public health at the city level.

Automated summary

This paper focuses on Guangzhou city and investigates the benefits of reducing carbon emissions under different scenarios. The study finds that implementing stringent mitigation strategies can lead to significant improvements in air quality and public health, particularly in reducing PM2.5 concentrations. Additionally, hotspot grids with high concentrations of carbon emissions and air pollution were identified in Guangzhou, emphasizing the importance of peaking carbon dioxide emissions for city-level environmental and health improvements.