I. Bertok

The potential contribution of renewable energy in air pollution abatement in China and India

The potential for the use of renewable sources of energy in China and India and their cost effectiveness in air pollution abatement in Asia is studied. This is done through an integrated assessment of the costs and the environmental impacts of several types of renewables, in comparison with fossil fuels. Results for different scenarios for fuel use in China and India for the period 1990–2020 are presented. The acidification model RAINS-ASIA is used to analyze environmental impacts (exceedance of critical loads for acidification) and to perform an optimization analysis, aiming at minimizing abatement costs. The costs of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission-control through the switch to renewable energy sources are analyzed and compared with the costs of controlling the emissions from fossil fuels (e.g. through flue gas desulfurization). For the environmental targets analyzed in this study an increased use of renewable energy could cut SO2 emission-control costs in China by 17–35%, and in India by more than two thirds.

A Module to Calculate Primary Particulate Matter Emissions and Abatement Measures in Europe

Primary particulate matter is emitted directly into the atmosphere from various anthropogenic and natural sources such as power plants (combustion of fossil fuels) or forest fires. Secondary particles are formed by transformation of SO2, NOx, NH3, and VOC in the atmosphere. They both contribute to ambient particulate matter concentrations, which may have adverse effects on human health. Health hazards are caused by small particulate size, high number of especially fine (< 2.5 µm) and ultra-fine (< 0.1 µm) particles and/or their chemical composition. As part of an integrated assessment model developed at IIASA, a module on primary particulate matter (PM) emissions has been added to the existing SO2, NOx, NH3 and VOC sections. The module considers so far primary emissions of total suspended particles (TSP), PM10 and PM2.5 from aggregated stationary and mobile sources. A primary PM emission database has been established. Country specific emission factors for stationary sources have been calculated within the module using the ash content of solid fuels.