Air Quality Improvement Co-benefits of Low-Carbon Pathways toward Well Below the 2 °C Climate Target in China

This research links the Integrated MARKAL-EFOM system model of China (China TIMES) and the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies model (GAINS) to assess the co-benefits of air quality improvement under the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and the well below 2 °C (WBD2) target. Results show that the industry sector and power sector are the key sources necessary to reduce air pollutant emissions, mainly due to the phasing out of fossil fuels. The electrification in the building sector will be another main source by which to decrease PM2.5 emissions. The adoption of various low-carbon constraints and further air pollutant control strategies will significantly alleviate the current air pollution problems in China by reducing the concentration and scope of the air pollutants and reducing the corresponding number of premature deaths. A stricter air pollutant control strategy will lead to increases in air pollutant control costs; however, the low-carbon targets will help reduce these costs in the long run. Compared to the current national policy, within the same air pollutant control strategy, the reduction of air pollutant control cost can cover the incremental CO2 mitigation cost under the NDC target, while this cannot be realized under the WBD2 target.