Inequality in historical transboundary anthropogenic PM health impacts.

Atmospheric transport of fine particulate matter (PM), the leading environmental risk factor for public health, is estimated to exert substantial transboundary effects at present. During the past several decades, human-produced pollutant emissions have undergone drastic and regionally distinctive changes, yet it remains unclear about the resulting global transboundary health impacts. Here we show that between 1950 and 2014, global anthropogenic PM has led to 185.

Considerable Unaccounted Local Sources of NO Emissions in China Revealed from Satellite.

High-resolution (e.g., 5 km) emission data of nitrogen oxides (NO = NO + NO) provide localized knowledge of pollution sources for targeted regulations, yet such data are lacking or inaccurate over most regions at present.

The underappreciated role of agricultural soil nitrogen oxide emissions in ozone pollution regulation in North China.

Intensive agricultural activities in the North China Plain (NCP) lead to substantial emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO) from soil, while the role of this source on local severe ozone pollution is unknown. Here we use a mechanistic parameterization of soil NO emissions combined with two atmospheric chemistry models to investigate the issue. We find that the presence of soil NO emissions in the NCP significantly reduces the sensitivity of ozone to anthropogenic emissions.

Global high-resolution emissions of soil NO, sea salt aerosols, and biogenic volatile organic compounds.

Natural emissions of air pollutants from the surface play major roles in air quality and climate change. In particular, nitrogen oxides (NO) emitted from soils contribute ~15% of global NO emissions, sea salt aerosols are a major player in the climate and chemistry of the marine atmosphere, and biogenic emissions are the dominant source of non-methane volatile organic compounds at the global scale. These natural emissions are often estimated using nonlinear parameterizations, which are sensitive to the horizontal resolutions of inputted meteorological and ancillary data.

Environmental taxation and regional inequality in China.

In order to combat environmental pollution, China enacted the Environmental Protection Tax Law in early 2018. Yet the impacts of the environmental tax on individual regions with different socioeconomic statuses, which are crucial for social justice and public acceptance, remain unclear. Based on a Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) table and a nationally regulated tax payment calculation method, this study analyzes the distributional impacts of an environmental tax based upon province's consumption from both inter-provincial and rural-urban aspects.

Carbon and health implications of trade restrictions.

In a globalized economy, production of goods can be disrupted by trade disputes. Yet the resulting impacts on carbon dioxide emissions and ambient particulate matter (PM) related premature mortality are unclear. Here we show that in contrast to a free trade world, with the emission intensity in each sector unchanged, an extremely anti-trade scenario with current tariffs plus an additional 25% tariff on each traded product would reduce the global export volume by 32.