Synergies in addressing air quality and climate change

Air quality is a serious concern for the protection of human health and our natural environment. The pollutants contributing the most to both local and transboundary air pollution problems are SO2. NOx, NH3, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and fine particulate matter (PM), and mostly originate from the same sources as greenhouse gases. There are thus strong interactions between strategies designed to improve air quality and those addressing climate change. This article examines these interactions, and the benefits of combined strategies with greater attention to the overall environmental impacts, and finding the 'win-win' solutions. Illustrations are provided from the development of policy in Europe under the UN ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, which is now inextricably linked with strategies to control greenhouse gases.