Air quality equity in US climate policy.
Pascal PolonikKatharine RickeSean ReeseJennifer A BurneyPublished in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2023)
The United States government has indicated a desire to advance environmental justice through climate policy. As fossil fuel combustion produces both conventional pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate mitigation strategies may provide an opportunity to address historical inequities in air pollution exposure. To test the impact of climate policy implementation choices on air quality equity, we develop a broad range of GHG reduction scenarios that are each consistent with the US Paris Accord target and model the resulting air pollution changes. Using idealized decision criteria, we show that least cost and income-based emission reductions can exacerbate air pollution disparities for communities of color. With a suite of randomized experiments that facilitates exploration of a wider climate policy decision space, we show that disparities largely persist despite declines in average pollution exposure, but that reducing transportation emissions has the most potential to reduce racial inequities.
Keyphrases
- climate change
- air pollution
- particulate matter
- human health
- healthcare
- public health
- mental health
- lung function
- global health
- heavy metals
- double blind
- risk assessment
- life cycle
- randomized controlled trial
- open label
- municipal solid waste
- cystic fibrosis
- primary care
- phase iii
- mental illness
- african american
- quality improvement
- drinking water