As the world's fifth-largest economy, California has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. While previous studies have shown that GHG reductions could synergistically decrease air pollutant emissions and protect public health, limited research has been conducted to compare the health cobenefits of different technology pathways toward deep decarbonization. Using an integrated approach that combines energy and emission technology modeling, high-resolution chemical transport simulation, and health impact assessment, we find that achievement of the 80% GHG reduction target would bring substantial air quality and health cobenefits. The cobenefits, however, highly depend on the selected technology pathway largely because of California's relatively clean energy structure. Compared with the business-as-usual levels, a decarbonization pathway that focuses on electrification and clean renewable energy is estimated to reduce concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by 18-37% in major metropolitan areas of California and subsequently avoid about 12 100 (9600-14 600) premature deaths. In contrast, only a quarter of such health cobenefits, i.e., 2800 (2300-3400) avoided deaths, can be achieved through a pathway focusing more on combustible renewable fuels. After subtracting the cost, the net monetized benefit of the electrification-focused pathway still exceeds that of the renewable fuel-focused pathway, indicating that a cleaner but more expensive decarbonization pathway may be more preferable in California.
1.Univ Calif Los Angeles, Joint Inst Reg Earth Syst Sci & Engn, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA 2.Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Atmospher & Ocean Sci, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA 3.Univ Calif Los Angeles, Inst Environm & Sustainabil, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA 4.Calif Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA 95814 USA 5.Ocean Univ China, Inst Adv Ocean Study, Minist Educ, Key Lab Marine Environm Sci & Ecol, Qingdao 266100, Shandong, Peoples R China 6.Univ Calif Los Angeles, UCLA Fielding Sch Publ Hlth, Environm Hlth Sci Dept, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA
Recommended Citation:
Zhao, Bin,Wan, Tianyang,Jiang, Zhe,et al. Air Quality and Health Cobenefits of Different Deep Decarbonization Pathways in California[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY,2019-01-01,53(12):7163-7171