Air Quality Management And Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions

How are Air Quality Management And Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions related?

Approximately 6 million premature deaths occur annually due to air pollution, making it a major global health risk and top priority for international as well as national health and environmental politics. The main culprit for those deaths are small particles, especially particulate matter with a diameter of 10 μm (PM₁₀) or even the smaller particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 μm (PM_2.5). PM_2.5 consists of different ingredients, with one of the most important ones being black carbon (BC). 55-65% of anthropogenic BC emissions are generated mainly by industry and transport through the incomplete burning of fossil fuels. BC is a Short Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP). Besides BC, the most common SLCPs are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), tropospheric ozone (O₃) and methane (CH₄). SLCPs are responsible for approx. 40% of global warming. They not only contribute to global warming and cause premature deaths, but also promote chronic diseases, e.g. acute respiratory infections or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Premature birth most likely is also related to air pollution, and it can hinder the effectiveness of antibiotics and medication. SLCPs also damage plants, reducing their photosynthesis and CO₂ absorption capacity, exacerbating hereby global warming and affecting agricultural yields. Reducing SLCPs therefore has positive effects on public health and on global warming alike. Reducing CH₄ and BC alone can lower global warming by approx. 0.5°C until 2050. Yet, since SLCPs are short lived in the atmosphere, their reduction has to go hand in hand with CO₂ reduction to have lasting effect. Luckily, some strategies to reduce SLCPs serve also to reduce CO₂ levels, e.g. regulations on fuel, phasing out coal burning etc.

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