College Park, MD 20740
Tropospheric ozone and black carbon (BC), a component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are associated with premature mortality and disrupt global and regional climate. While attention to their impacts on climate is relatively new, these pollutants have been regulated under health-based standards in the US and elsewhere in the world for decades. Understanding the health benefits of reducing short-lived climate forcers may help inform mitigation strategies, since health will likely continue to drive concern over air quality in the future. Several recent studies have examined the health and climate co-benefits of control measures targeting BC and methane, an ozone precursor. This talk will highlight the health benefits of 14 presently available BC and methane mitigation measures examined in the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone. Fully implementing these specific measures is estimated to avoid 1-5 million annual ozone and PM2.5-related premature deaths globally in 2030, >80% of which occur in Asia. BC mitigation measures are estimated to achieve ~98% of the avoided deaths from all measures, due to associated reductions of non-methane ozone precursor and organic carbon emissions and stronger mortality relationships for PM2.5 relative to ozone. These substantial public health co-benefits of mitigating short-lived climate forcers are independent of whether CO2 measures are enacted. Further analyses are needed to improve economic valuation of the varied impacts of short-lived climate forcers and quantify the benefits and costs of these measures in individual countries or regions to support policy decisions made at the national level.
BIOGRAPHY: Susan Anenberg is an Environmental Protection Specialist in the U.S. EPA Office of Air and Radiation. Susan conducts interdisciplinary research to inform domestic and international policy related to air quality and climate change. Her research focuses on interactions between air quality and climate change, the health effects of air pollution, long-range transport of air pollution, and effective design of environmental policy to manage these issues. She recently collaborated with international researchers on an effort sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and World Meteorological Organization to identify black carbon and methane mitigation measures that achieve simultaneous benefits for climate, health, and agriculture. Susan received her Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a subfocus in Environmental Policy. She also has an M.S. from UNC in the same field and a B.A. from Northwestern University.
Parking is free but a visitor parking permit is required. Please let Kim Swieringa (kim.swieringa@pnl.gov) know if you will be driving and need a visitor permit.
