Projecting and Quantifying Future Changes in Socioeconomic Drivers of Air Pollution and Its Health-Related Impacts

Active Project
Projecting and Quantifying Future Changes in Socioeconomic Drivers of Air Pollution and Its Health-Related Impacts

Focus Areas: 

  • Energy Transition
  • Policy Scenarios
  • Climate Policy
  • Air Quality & Health

MIT’s contribution to this collaborative effort will be to investigate future changes in regional air pollution characteristics due to technological and societal changes. The researchers will quantify the future implications of technologies and efficiency improvements in the energy and transportation sectors on regional differences in air pollution impacts. As a case study, they’ll assess the environmental and health benefits of choices in state and regional carbon policy implementation relevant to recently proposed carbon dioxide emission reductions from the energy sector. Finally, they will examine the health‑related benefits of reducing concentrations of ozone and particulate matter, as well as changing regional air pollution mixtures including air toxics. To produce their findings, they will use an integrated assessment model framework linking economic models with details on advanced technologies for transportation and energy supply that consistently simulations economic and population growth, air quality and health impacts, including the economic implications of air pollution health impacts. The project will ultimately result in a computationally-efficient analysis tool that can be used to assess the relative importance of global change, technologies and policies to air quality, including their costs and benefits, and taking into account uncertainties.

Funding Sources

Project Leaders

Faculty
IDSS; Joint Program
Faculty
Aero-Astro; Joint Program
Faculty
Sloan; Joint Program
Faculty
CGCS; Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences