Impact and Interactions of Policies for Mitigation of Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Korea

Abstract

Korea faces a challenging task of simultaneously reducing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG). Since both are emitted from the same sources such as fossil fuel combustion and economic activities, there could be commonalities and interactions between the policies for reducing each of them. A static computable general equilibrium model is developed to observe the economic impact of policies for reducing air pollutants or GHG and the interactions between those policies in Korea. The results show that reducing one of the air pollutants, particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) emissions by 30% from the business-as-usual (BAU) in 2022 will lead to reduction of GHG emissions by 22.8% below the BAU level, exceeding the national GHG reduction target. Also, by achieving the domestic GHG reduction target, which is 32.5% below the BAU level by 2030, PM2.5 emissions will be reduced by 32.8%. The costs of reducing air pollutants and greenhouse gas are high, reaching from 0.34% to 1.75% of gross domestic product, and the reduction causes an asymmetrical damage to emission intensive industries. The sum of the benefits from air pollutants and GHG reduction is estimated to be 0.4 to 1.2 times greater than the costs, depending on the scenario.

Pretreatment of Grape Stalks by Fungi: Effect on Bioactive Compounds, Fiber Composition, Saccharification Kinetics and Monosaccharides Ratio

“…The human dependence on non-renewable resources, fossil fuels depletion, and climate issues [1] have influenced an increasing trend in the adoption of decarbonization policies [2], mainly in critical areas such as the transport sector, which accounts for about 23% of total CO 2 emissions [3]. In this context, the European Union is committed to a 25% increase in biofuels production for the transport sector by 2030 in order to reach a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions [4].…”

“…(1) Pseudo first-order rate constant determined during first two days of hydrolysis. Sugar yield: values with different superscript letters(a, b, c, d, e, f) are significantly (p < 0.05) different from each other.…”

Economic Effects of Renewable Energy Expansion Policy: Computable General Equilibrium Analysis for Korea

“…However, the situation, where the expansion of renewable energy replaces gas power generation instead of coal power generation, is better to be avoided. This is because not only does it cause GHG emission problems, but it also increases the emissions of air pollutants, such as PM 2.5 , making air pollution and public health problems in Korea more serious [11].…”

“…Exposure to high concentrations of PM 2.5 increases the likelihood of lung and vascular diseases and increases the mortality rate [ 10 ]. In the case of Korea, about 37% of domestic PM 2.5 emissions (primary and secondary) came from coal use (mostly coal power generation and the steel industry), about 37% came from oil use (mostly the transportation sector), and only 4% came from gas use (mostly gas power generation and household use) in 2014 [ 11 ]. PM 2.5 emissions from gas power generation are much lower than those of coal power generation.…”

Beyond Strict Regulations to Achieve Environmental and Economic Health—An Optimal PM2.5 Mitigation Policy for Korea

“…Since air pollutants are a transboundary problem, severe air quality degradation in China also significantly impacts the Korean peninsula [ 5 ]. Prevailing westerlies deliver air pollutants from China, exacerbating the air quality in the late-industrialized economy of the Republic of Korea (hereafter, “Korea”) [ 6 ]. Some of the literature indicates that there is a significant improvement in air quality in China recently [ 7 , 8 ], but air quality degradation is one of the most serious social problems that needs to be resolved in Korea.…”