Evolution of the life cycle primary PM2.5 emissions in globalized production systems

Defining the role of renewable energy, economic growth, globalization, energy consumption, and population growth on PM2.5 concentration: evidence from South Asian countries

Rapid industrialization and economic development in South Asia (SA) caused serious air pollution-related issues. Air pollutants, particularly fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), have negative effects on health, instigating widespread concern. The current study is an attempt to analyze the impact of non-renewable energy (NRE), globalization (GLO), GDP, renewable energy (RE), and population (POP) on PM_2.5 concentration in SA from 1998 to 2020. In doing so, this study incorporated advanced and robust econometric techniques, i.e., Pesaran (Economet Rev 34(6-10), 1089-1117, 2015), to check the cross-sectional dependency, and the unit root presence checked through Cross-sectional Im, Pesaran, and Shin (CIPS) and Cross-sectionally Augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root tests. Moreover, the long and short-run association among the selected variables was analyzed through Westerlund and Edgerton (Econ Lett 97(3), 185-190, 2007), cointegration test, and cross-sectional augmented ARDL (CS-ARDL). The empirical results indicate that the panel was cross-sectionally correlated, stationary at the first difference, and co-integrated in the long run. Moreover, the CS-ARDL model indicates a positive association between GDP and PM_2.5 concentration. Similarly, NRE and POP contribute significantly to increasing the PM_2.5 concentration in SA. However, RE and GLO play an important role to decrease the PM_2.5 concentration in SA.

Global trade network and CH4 emission outsourcing

The intensifying globalization contributes to the anthropogenic methane (CH₄) emissions outsourcing, a strong greenhouse gas and harmful air pollutant, through the increasingly complex global trade network. However, the CH₄ flow patterns embodied in global traded goods and services have not been interpreted from the perspective of a complex network. In this paper, we integrate global CH₄ emission inventory from the EDGAR (the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research) databases, global multi-regional input-output model from the GTAP database, and complex network analysis to reveal the structural characteristics of the global CH₄ flow network (GCFN). In the GCFN, more than one quarter of the global anthropogenic CH₄ emissions in 2014 are associated with international trade. The top 20 economies contribute to about 70% of the total embodied CH₄ emission flows. The GCFNs mainly consist of tripartite patterns centered on China, the USA and Russia. Some emerging countries, such as Thailand and Brazil, also exhibit dominated positions in different kinds of GCFNs. Moreover, the core-periphery structure of the GCFN confirms the existence of a few hub economies associated with a large amount of CH₄ emissions. The results emphasize the multinational cooperation on global CH₄ emission mitigation, and well-focused mitigation policies should be implemented on some key economies.

Consumption in the G20 nations causes particulate air pollution resulting in two million premature deaths annually

Worldwide exposure to ambient PM_2.5 causes over 4 million premature deaths annually. As most of these deaths are in developing countries, without internationally coordinated efforts this polarized situation will continue. As yet, however, no studies have quantified nation-to-nation consumer responsibility for global mortality due to both primary and secondary PM_2.5 particles. Here we quantify the global footprint of PM_2.5-driven premature deaths for the 19 G20 nations in a position to lead such efforts. G20 consumption in 2010 was responsible for 1.983 [95% Confidence Interval: 1.685–2.285] million premature deaths, at an average age of 67, including 78.6 [71.5–84.8] thousand infant deaths, implying that the G20 lifetime consumption of about 28 [24–33] people claims one life. Our results indicate that G20 nations should take responsibility for their footprint rather than focusing solely on transboundary air pollution, as this would expand opportunities for reducing PM_2.5-driven premature mortality. Given the infant mortality footprint identified, it would moreover contribute to ensuring infant lives are not unfairly left behind in countries like South Africa, which have a weak relationship with G20 nations.

Worldwide exposure to ambient PM_2.5 causes millions of premature deaths annually. Here the authors quantify the global footprint of PM_2.5-driven premature deaths for the G20 countries, which are in a position to lead internationally coordinated mitigation efforts.

Comprehensive study of a long-lasting severe haze in Seoul megacity and its impacts on fine particulate matter and health

A long-lasting severe haze event was observed over the Seoul metropolitan region (SMR: Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do), South Korea, in the winter of 2013 (January 12-16). We comprehensively investigated the atmospheric processes affecting particulate matter (PM) distributions during the haze event, as well as its impact on human health in the study area. These analyses were performed based on meteorological and PM observations and numerical modeling, which included the WRF-CMAQ modeling system and the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE). High PM₁₀ concentrations during the haze event were mostly observed in the western and southern parts of the SMR. Significant differences (60-70 μg m^-3) in the mean PM_2.5 concentrations for haze and non-haze days were predicted mainly in the west-northwest areas of SMR. This might be primarily due to the pollutant transport (horizontal and vertical) from large emission sources (e.g., Chinese emissions) and, in part, their local accumulation (by local emissions) under high-pressure conditions and slow-moving air flows (i.e., blocking effect) around SMR. In addition, the enhanced PM_2.5 concentrations in the study area during the haze event led to an increase in the number of premature deaths.

Affluent countries inflict inequitable mortality and economic loss on Asia via PM2.5 emissions

This research sets out to quantify the mortality and economic loss in individual Asian countries caused by the PM_2.5 emissions induced by the consumption of the world's five highest-consuming countries (US, China, Japan, Germany, UK). In 2010 alone, the economic impact of these five countries' consumption caused a loss of almost 45 billion US dollars due to the premature deaths of more than 1 million people in Asia, including 15 thousand children younger than 5 years old. The percentage ratio of economic loss to value-added driven by consumers via trade differed greatly among the impacted countries. For the US, the highest percentage loss was 4.1% in Laos, followed by 2.0% in Bangladesh, both markedly higher than the figures for the more developed countries, such as 0.21% for Japan and 0.18% for Korea. This reflects the inequitable value chain existing between consumer countries and impacted countries, and implies that developing countries are obtaining value-added in exchange for unintentionally increased health risks, delaying their development and potentially creating a vicious circle that hinders much-needed improvements in areas like poverty reduction and public health. This inequitable situation needs to be redressed through introduction of clean energy and other types of technological assistance to help achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7, 10 and 13. Such as move is essential if premature infant deaths are to be curtailed.