Dataset Information

Economy-wide evaluation of CO₂ and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Adopting electric end-use technologies instead of fossil-fueled alternatives, known as electrification, is an important economy-wide decarbonization strategy that also reduces criteria pollutant emissions and improves air quality. In this study, we evaluate CO₂ and air quality co-benefits of electrification scenarios by linking a detailed energy systems model and a full-form photochemical air quality model in the United States. We find that electrification can substantially lower CO₂ and improve air quality and that decarbonization policy can amplify these trends, which yield immediate and localized benefits. In particular, transport electrification can improve ozone and fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), though the magnitude of changes varies regionally. However, growing activity from non-energy-related PM_2.5 sources-such as fugitive dust and agricultural emissions-can offset electrification benefits, suggesting that additional measures beyond CO₂ policy and electrification are needed to meet air quality goals. We illustrate how commonly used marginal emissions approaches systematically underestimate reductions from electrification.

SUBMITTER: Bistline JET

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9637153 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Economy-wide evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

Bistline John E T JET Blanford Geoffrey G Grant John J Knipping Eladio E McCollum David L DL Nopmongcol Uarporn U Scarth Heidi H Shah Tejas T Yarwood Greg G

Nature communications 20221105 1

Adopting electric end-use technologies instead of fossil-fueled alternatives, known as electrification, is an important economy-wide decarbonization strategy that also reduces criteria pollutant emissions and improves air quality. In this study, we evaluate CO<sub>2</sub> and air quality co-benefits of electrification scenarios by linking a detailed energy systems model and a full-form photochemical air quality model in the United States. We find that electrification can substantially lower CO<s ...[more]

PMID: 36335099

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Project description:Public health protection from air pollution can be achieved more effectively by shifting from a single-pollutant approach to a multi-pollutant approach. To develop such multi-pollutant approaches, identifying which air pollutants are present most frequently is essential. This study aims to determine the frequently found carcinogenic air toxics or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) combinations across the United States as well as to analyze the health impacts of developing cancer due to exposure to these HAPs. To identify the most commonly found carcinogenic air toxics combinations, we first identified HAPs with cancer risk greater than one in a million in more than 5% of the census tracts across the United States, based on the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) by the U.S. EPA for year 2005. We then calculated the frequencies of their two-component (binary), and three-component (ternary) combinations. To quantify the cancer-related health impacts, we focused on the 10 most frequently found HAPs with national average cancer risk greater than one in a million. Their cancer-related health impacts were calculated by converting lifetime cancer risk reported in NATA 2005 to years of healthy life lost or Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). We found that the most frequently found air toxics with cancer risk greater than one in a million are formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride, acetaldehyde, and benzene. The most frequently occurring binary pairs and ternary mixtures are the various combinations of these four air toxics. Analysis of urban and rural HAPs did not reveal significant differences in the top combinations of these chemicals. The cumulative annual cancer-related health impacts of inhaling the top 10 carcinogenic air toxics included was about 1,600 DALYs in the United States or 0.6 DALYs per 100,000 people. Formaldehyde and benzene together contribute nearly 60 percent of the total cancer-related health impacts. Our study shows that although there are many carcinogenic air toxics, only a few of them affect public health significantly at the national level in the United States, based on the frequency of occurrence of air toxics mixtures and cancer-related public health impacts. Future research is needed on their joint toxicity and cumulative health impacts.

Dataset Information

Economy-wide evaluation of CO₂ and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

Publications

Economy-wide evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

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Dataset Information

Economy-wide evaluation of CO2 and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

Publications

Economy-wide evaluation of CO<sub>2</sub> and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.

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OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

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Economy-wide evaluation of CO₂ and air quality impacts of electrification in the United States.