COP-AQ
UK-China collaboration to optimise net-zero policy options for air quality and health
The UK-China Collaboration to Optimise net zero Policy options for Air Quality and health (COP-AQ) is a consortium of universities and research institutes in the UK working with partners in China to identify research priorities to optimise Net Zero and Carbon Neutrality strategies and maximise co-benefits for air quality and health. COP-AQ is funded by the UK Research and Innovation – Natural Environment Research Council and is built upon the Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-China) research community.
Air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths per year globally. About 25% of these premature deaths occur in China, due to the country’s severe air pollution and large population. In the UK, poor air quality is responsible for around 36,000 premature deaths per year. In addition to the health burden, air pollution exerts significant direct and indirect economic costs potentially reaching several percent of GDP/year.
Although clean air actions and technological change have substantially reduced air pollution emissions in recent years in China and the UK, there is new scientific evidence that further reductions are required to protect human health, which has been reflected in the updated WHO air quality guidelines.
The current policies in the UK and China may be insufficient for pollutant levels to comply with the updated guidelines. However, a key opportunity to achieve the new air quality objectives arises from the Net Zero (UK) or Carbon Neutrality policies (China) that aim to tackle the increasing impacts of climate change as a result of rising levels of greenhouse gases. COP-AQ seeks to address this challenge.
Objectives
- To understand the research needs to deliver future air pollutant emission projections based on plausible pathways to Net Zero / Carbon Neutrality, to model future air quality, and to evaluate health benefits / impacts.
- To determine the optimum observation and data science framework needed to evidence the air quality and health benefits of Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality options and to identify potential negative consequences.
- To develop methodologies to optimise Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality co-benefits for health equity, considering variations across space and time compared with population vulnerability.
- To advance UK-China partnerships and interdisciplinary capacity in delivering the underpinning science to deliver win-win solutions for Net Zero/Carbon Neutrality and air quality.
Research Programme
COP-AQ aims to identify research priorities to optimise the UK’s Net Zero and China’s Carbon Neutrality policies to maximise co-benefits for Air Quality and Health. A total of nine case studies have been developed to deliver COP-AQ objectives. The International Workshop on Net Zero and Air Quality aims to identify the current state of quantitative understanding of the impacts of Net Zero and Carbon Neutrality goals on Air Quality and Health and cross-disciplinary research challenges. The China-UK Scoping Workshop aims to define the agenda for future research and programme to optimise Net Zero and Carbon Neutrality strategies for Air Quality and Health. Furthermore, COP-AQ has provided network opportunities for early career researchers through the Winter School 2021 on Data Science for Climate and Air Quality Research.
Case Studies
- CS1: Combining air pollutant and CO2 footprint measurements in cities for integrated air pollution and climate assessments (PI: Prof. Rod Jones, University of Cambridge)
- CS2: Scoping study on the biggest sources of uncertainties in evaluating the impact of specific NZ/CN actions on AQ and health (PI: Prof. Dominick Spracklen, University of Leeds)
- CS3 Consequence of NZ policies for population attainment of 2021 WHO interim targets and progress toward air quality guideline levels (PI Prof. William Bloss, University of Birmingham)
- CS4 Impact of changing AQ under NZ/CN policies upon NPF (PI: Prof. Roy Harrison, University of Birmingham)
- CS5: The effect of the drive to CN on ozone in Beijing (PI: Prof. James Lee, University of York)
- CS6: Impacts of CN policies on regional O3 and PM2.5 in China (PI: Prof. Oliver Wild, Lancaster University)
- CS7: Evaluating health benefits of NZ transport emissions in China and the UK (PI: Prof. Frank Kelly, Imperial College London)
- CS8: Evaluating AQ related health and equity impacts due to NZ/CN options (PI: Dr Miranda Loh, Institute of Occupational Health)
- CS9: The emission-health-economic nexus of decarbonisation in China based on point-source data (PI: Dr Jing Meng, University College, London)
Project Team
Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC)
Imperial College London
Prof. Frank Kelly
Dr Julia Fussell
Institute of Occupational Health
Lancaster University
Prof. Oliver Wild
Zhenze Liu (PhD student)
University College London
Dr Jing Meng
Prof. Dabo Guan
Weichen Zhao (PhD student)
Xinyi Wu (PhD student)
University of Birmingham
Prof. Zongbo Shi
Prof. Roy Harrison
Prof. William Bloss
Dr James Brean
Dr Congbo Song
Dr Jian Zhong
University of Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
University of Leeds
Prof. Dominick Spracklen
Steve Arnold
Prof. Dwayne Heard
University of Manchester
Prof. Hugh Coe
Prof. Dave Topping
University of York
Prof. James Lee
Prof. Ally Lewis
Prof. David Carslaw
Dr Bethany Nelson
UK-China climate research resources from VIEWpoint CSSP China
A wide range of high quality resources produced by VIEWpoint Climate Science for Service (CSSP) China are available online. They include research into air quality, urban areas and health. Explainers and briefing notes, data visualisations, training resources and animations are available in English and Mandarin. As well as plain language information for decision-makers and those in policy, the website includes a searchable catalogue of the more than 300 scientific CSSP China published papers.
You can find all the resources at: https://www.viewpoint-cssp.org/home
Effects of air quality on people with mesothelioma resources from Mesothelioma Centre
Poor air quality is an increasingly worrisome issue. Especially with wildfires raging in the west and with growing urban populations, the resulting air quality is concerning for the residents living there, but for those who are already dealing with respiratory or lung issues it can be especially troubling. The Mesothelioma Centre has put together a great guide on what to know for mesothelioma sufferers dealing with poor air quality and another one detailing some basic information on mesothelioma.
You can find these resources at:
https://www.asbestos.com/blog/2018/09/04/air-quality-index-mesothelioma
https://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/life-expectancy
Winter School 2021 on Data Science for Climate and Air Quality Research
The Winter School 2021 on Data Science for Climate and Air Quality Research is being held online from December 2021 until February 2022, running six sessions which are scheduled from 8 or 9am UK time and 4 or 5pm China time. The workshops are free to attend; recordings will be made available on this website.
International Workshop on Net Zero and Air Quality, 11-13 January 2022
The International Workshop on Net Zero and Air Quality aims to capture our current understanding of the co-benefits or disbenefits of Carbon Neutrality or Net Zero policy options on air quality relating to health and economic impacts, and more importantly to identify future research questions and priorities.
China-UK Scoping Workshop: Optimizing Net Zero Policy Options for Air Quality and Health, 27 April 2022
The China-UK Scoping Workshop on Air Quality and Health Effects of Carbon Neutrality or Net Zero Policies offers a unique opportunity to shape future research directions in this field.