Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
fuels and the resultant air pollution, it will reap not only the health benefits
associated with improvement of air quality but also the reduced GHG emissions.
Consideration of the health impact of air pollution and climate change can help the
Chinese
government
move
forward
towards
sustainable
development
with
appropriate urgency (Kan et al.
2012
).
Urban centres in Latin American often face high levels of air pollution as a result
of economic and industrial growth. Decisions with regard to industry, transporta-
tion, and development will affect air pollution and health both in the short term and
in the far future through climate change. Bell et al. (
2006
) investigated the pollution
health consequences of modest changes in fossil-fuel use for three case study cities
in Latin American: Mexico City, Mexico; Santiago, Chile; and São Paulo, Brazil.
Annual levels of ozone and particulate matter were estimated from 2000 to 2020 for
two emissions scenarios: (1) business-as-usual based on current emissions patterns
and regulatory trends and (2) a control policy aimed at lowering air pollution
emissions. The resulting air pollution levels were linked to health endpoints through
concentration-response functions derived from epidemiological studies, using local
studies where available. Results indicate that the air pollution control policy would
have vast health benefits for each of the three cities, averting numerous adverse
health outcomes including over 156,000 deaths, 4 million asthma attacks, 300,000
children's medical visits, and almost 48,000 cases of chronic bronchitis in the three
cities over the 20-year period. The economic value of the avoided health impacts is
roughly $21 to $165 billion (US). Sensitivity analysis shows that the control policy
yields significant health and economic benefits even with relaxed assumptions with
regard to population growth, pollutant concentrations for the control policy, con-
centration-response functions and economic value of health outcomes. Bell et al.
(
2006
) research demonstrates the health and economic burden from air pollution in
Latin American urban centres and the magnitude of health benefits from control
policies (Bell et al.
2006
).
The contribution of the road transportation sector to emissions of air pollutants
and GHGs is a growing concern in developing countries. Emission control mea-
sures implemented within this sector can have varying counteracting influences. In
the city of Durban, South Africa, the growing dependence on privately owned
motor vehicles and increasing usage of roads for freight transport have all resulted
in significant air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, an emis-
sions inventory was developed for the road transport sector and was used as a basis
to explore intervention opportunities that are likely to reduce simultaneously, air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. It was found that reducing
the vehicle kilometres travelled by privately owned motor vehicles and improving
the efficiency of road freight transport offered the greatest potential for achieving
co-benefits (Thambiran and Diab
2011
).
Bollen et al. (
2009
) present the findings of a combined cost-benefit analysis of
local air pollution and global climate change, two subjects that are usually studied
separately. Yet these distinct environmental problems are closely related, since
they are both driven by the nature of present energy production and consumption
patterns. Bollen et al. (
2009
) also demonstrate that the discounted benefits of local
