Dr. Ying Li Co-Authors Article in Energy Policy
Dr. Ying Li, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health for the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, has co-authored an article titled “Economic evaluation of health benefits of mercury emission controls for China and the neighboring countries in East Asia” to be published in the July 2017 issue of Energy Policy.
Globally, coal-fired power plants are a major source of mercury. China is developing its first National Implementation Plan on Mercury Control, which prioritizes the control of emissions from these plants. While social benefits play an important role in designing environmental policies in China, the benefits associated with mercury control are not yet understood, mainly due to the scientific challenges associated with tracing mercury's emissions-to-impacts path.
This study evaluates the benefits of mercury reductions in China's power plants for China and three neighboring countries in East Asia. Four policy scenarios are analyzed following the policies-to-impacts path, which links a global atmospheric model to health benefit analysis models to estimate the economic gains from avoided mercury-related adverse health outcomes under each scenario.
Under the most stringent scenario, the benefits of mercury reduction by 2030 are projected to be $432 billion with the benefits for China and the neighboring countries accounting for 96% and 4% of the total benefits, respectively. This analysis indicates that coal washing generates the greatest benefits in the near term, whereas upgrading air pollution control devices maximizes health benefits in the long term.
Lead author for the article is Wei Zhang of the Renmin University of China. Additional authors include individuals from East China Normal University, Peking University, and Tianjin University.
Energy Policy is an international peer-reviewed journal addressing the policy implications of energy supply and use from their economic, social, planning and environmental aspects.