Articles | Volume 23, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023
Research article
 | 
08 Sep 2023
Research article |  | 08 Sep 2023

The underappreciated role of transboundary pollution in future air quality and health improvements in China

Jun-Wei Xu, Jintai Lin, Dan Tong, and Lulu Chen

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Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
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Cited articles

Ascensão, F., Fahrig, L., Clevenger, A. P., Corlett, R. T., Jaeger, J. A. G., Laurance, W. F., and Pereira, H. M.: Environmental challenges for the Belt and Road Initiative, Nat. Sustain., 1, 206–209, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0059-3, 2018. 
Burtraw, D., Domeshek, M., Shih, J. S., Villanueva, S., and Lambert, K. F.: The Distribution of Air Quality Health Benefits from Meeting US 2030, Resources for the Future, https://media.rff.org/documents/Air_Quality_Two-pager_-_Burtraw_et_al..pdf (last access: 6 September 2023), 2022. 
Cheng, J., Tong, D., Liu, Y., Yu, S., Yan, L., Zheng, B., Geng, G., He, K., and Zhang, Q.: Comparison of Current and Future PM2.5 Air Quality in China Under CMIP6 and DPEC Emission Scenarios, Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, 1–11, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093197, 2021a. 
Cheng, J., Tong, D., Zhang, Q., Liu, Y., Lei, Y., Yan, G., Yan, L., Yu, S., Cui, R. Y., Clarke, L., Geng, G., Zheng, B., Zhang, X., Davis, S. J., and He, K.: Pathways of China's PM2.5 air quality 2015–2060 in the context of carbon neutrality, Natl. Sci. Rev., 8, nwab078, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab078, 2021b.​​​​​​​ 
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This study highlights the necessity of a low-carbon pathway in foreign countries for China to achieve air quality goals and to protect public health. We find that adopting the low-carbon instead of the fossil-fuel-intensive pathway in foreign countries would prevent 63 000–270 000 transboundary PM2.5-associated mortalities in China in 2060. Our study provides direct evidence of the necessity of inter-regional cooperation for air quality improvement.
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