Air Pollution Policy and Governance

In northern China and the Korean Peninsula, air pollution has worsened over the past ten years, but the two countries have not cooperated efficiently to resolve the problem. China and Korea must separate environmental negotiations and diplomatic actions to address the transboundary nature of air pollution.

Fossil fuel burning in continental China was the main source of black carbon in haze events in Shanghai but residential biomass burning has become a more prominent factor since the implementation of clean air policies, indicating dual-isotope-constrained observations and chemical-transport modelling.

Accelerated electric vehicle penetration in southern California is projected to reduce atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulates and help address disparities in air quality between communities, according to numerical simulations of vehicle emissions and air quality.

Fine particulate aerosols and black carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion, attributed to traffic, are a major contributor to poor air quality in Nairobi, Kenya, according to a year-long time series of black carbon concentration and radiocarbon composition in particulate matter.

Chinese government has implemented the air pollution control measure-the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in 2013, whose effects have not been fully studied. Here the authors show that from 2013 to 2017, the plan has achieved substantial public health benefits.

Observations confirm that cleaning up fine particulate matter in the North China Plain has exacerbated ozone pollution, suggesting that both NO_x and VOC emissions need to be reduced to improve air quality.

International regulations of ship emissions in the North and Baltic Seas did not reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and limited the reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions mostly close to ports, according to analyses combining emissions measurements, ship inspection results, and satellite data.

Food production, especially of animal products, is a major source of air pollutants. Here, the authors quantify the impacts dietary changes towards more plant-based diets could have for air quality, labour productivity, and human health.

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) contributes strongly to PM_2.5 air pollution in Europe. Here, authors identify diverse Nr control pathways for Europe depending on emission and pollution formation and a priority of NH₃ control when costs are considered.

A machine learning model for generating crop-specific and spatially explicit NH₃ emission factors globally shows that global NH₃ emissions in 2018 were lower than previous estimates that did not fully consider fertilizer management practices.

This study analyses the synergistic effects of reductions in ozone and aerosols on China’s maize, rice and wheat yields, showing that meeting air quality targets would help the country to achieve grain self-sufficiency.

Vehicles are responsible for a large share of urban air pollution, but emissions estimates omit the full driving cycle or focus on only a few vehicles. Using GPS traces, emissions from thousands of private vehicles in three European cities are estimated to identify gross polluters and grossly polluted roads.

Accurate estimates of emissions distribution in a vehicle fleet can help air pollution control. With diesel emissions data from chassis dynamometer tests and on-road remote sensing, this study shows that previous results about a skewed distribution towards the highest 10% emitters may not be correct.