Journal article
Quantifying the human health benefits of curbing air pollution in Shanghai
Journal of environmental management, Vol.70(1), pp.49-62
2004
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2003.10.007
PMID: 15125545
Abstract
Urban development in the mega-cities of Asia has caused detrimental effects on the human health of its inhabitants through air pollution. However, averting these health damages by investing in clean energy and industrial technologies and measures can be expensive. Many cities do not have the capital to make such investments or may prefer to invest that capital elsewhere. In this article, we examine the city of Shanghai, China, and perform an illustrative cost/benefit analysis of air pollution control. Between 1995 and 2020 we expect that Shanghai will continue to grow rapidly. Increased demands for energy will cause increased use of fossil fuels and increased emissions of air pollutants. In this work, we examine emissions of particles smaller than 10 μm in diameter (PM
10), which have been associated with inhalation health effects. We hypothesize the establishment of a new technology strategy for coal-fired power generation after 2010 and a new industrial coal-use policy. The health benefits of pollution reduction are compared with the investment costs for the new strategies. The study shows that the benefit-to-cost ratio is in the range of 1–5 for the power-sector initiative and 2–15 for the industrial-sector initiative. Thus, there appear to be considerable net benefits for these strategies, which could be very large depending on the valuation of health effects in China today and in the future. This study therefore provides economic grounds for supporting investments in air pollution control in developing cities like Shanghai.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Quantifying the human health benefits of curbing air pollution in Shanghai
- Creators
- Jia Li - Center for Clean Air Policy. Washington, DC, USASarath K Guttikunda - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USAGregory R Carmichael - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USADavid G Streets - Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USAYoung-Soo Chang - Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USAVirginia Fung - Global Greenlife Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of environmental management, Vol.70(1), pp.49-62
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jenvman.2003.10.007
- PMID
- 15125545
- ISSN
- 0301-4797
- eISSN
- 1095-8630
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2004
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering; Nursing; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984003942502771
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