Clean air policies in China have substantially reduced particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution in recent years, primarily by curbing end-of-pipe emissions. However, reaching the level of the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines may instead depend upon the air quality co-benefits of ambitious climate action. Here, we assess pathways of Chinese PM_2.5 air quality from 2015 to 2060 under a combination of scenarios that link global and Chinese climate mitigation pathways (i.e. global 2°C- and 1.5°C-pathways, National Determined Contributions (NDC) pledges and carbon neutrality goals) to local clean air policies. We find that China can achieve both its near-term climate goals (peak emissions) and PM_2.5 air quality annual standard (35 μg/m³) by 2030 by fulfilling its NDC pledges and continuing air pollution control policies. However, the benefits of end-of-pipe control reductions are mostly exhausted by 2030, and reducing PM_2.5 exposure of the majority of the Chinese population to below 10 μg/m³ by 2060 will likely require more ambitious climate mitigation efforts such as China's carbon neutrality goals and global 1.5°C-pathways. Our results thus highlight that China's carbon neutrality goals will play a critical role in reducing air pollution exposure to the level of the WHO guidelines and protecting public health.

Satellite reveals 10-day mean and spatially explicit variations in China’s CO ₂ emissions during and after COVID-19 lockdown.

It is well recognized that carbon dioxide and air pollutants share similar emission sources so that synergetic policies on climate change mitigation and air pollution control can lead to remarkable co-benefits on greenhouse gas reduction, air quality improvement, and improved health. In the context of carbon peak, carbon neutrality, and clean air policies, this perspective tracks and analyzes the process of the synergetic governance of air pollution and climate change in China by developing and monitoring 18 indicators. The 18 indicators cover the following five aspects: air pollution and associated weather-climate conditions, progress in structural transition, sources, inks, and mitigation pathway of atmospheric composition, health impacts and benefits of coordinated control, and synergetic governance system and practices. By tracking the progress in each indicator, this perspective presents the major accomplishment of coordinated control, identifies the emerging challenges toward the synergetic governance, and provides policy recommendations for designing a synergetic roadmap of Carbon Neutrality and Clean Air for China.

Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) poses a risk to human health. In January 2017, the PM_2.5 pollution in China was severe, and the average PM_2.5 concentration had increased by 14.7% compared to that in January 2016. Meteorological conditions greatly influence PM_2.5 pollution. The relationship between PM_2.5 and meteorological factors was assessed using monitoring data and the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ) was used to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of variations of meteorological conditions on PM_2.5 pollution. The results indicate that variations of meteorological conditions between January 2017 and January 2016 caused an increase of 13.6% in the national mean concentration of PM_2.5. Unlike the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), where meteorological conditions were favorable, unfavorable meteorological conditions (such as low wind speed, high humidity, low boundary layer height and low rainfall) contributed to PM_2.5 concentration worsening by 29.7%, 42.6% and 7.9% in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (JJJ) region, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and the Chengdu-Chongqing (CYB) region, respectively. Given the significant influence of local meteorology on PM_2.5 concentration, more emphasis should be placed on employing meteorological means to improve local air quality.