Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future

Nature Energy · 2022 · 111 citations

• Political Science
• Natural resource economics
• Business

Enabling an equitable energy transition through inclusive research

Nature Energy · 2022 · 34 citations

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Computer Science

Population ageing and deaths attributable to ambient PM2·5 pollution: a global analysis of economic cost

The Lancet Planetary Health · 2021 · 154 citations

• Environmental health
• Geography
• Medicine

BACKGROUND: The health impacts of ambient air pollution impose large costs on society. Although all people are exposed to air pollution, the older population (ie, those aged ≥60 years) tends to be disproportionally affected. As a result, there is growing concern about the health impacts of air pollution as many countries undergo rapid population ageing. We investigated the spatial and temporal variation in the economic cost of deaths attributable to ambient air pollution and its interaction with population ageing from 2000 to 2016 at global and regional levels. METHODS: . Finally, we did a sensitivity test to analyse the variability of the estimated health costs to four alternative valuation measures. We identified the uncertainty intervals (UIs) from 1000 draws of the parameters and concentration-response functions by age, cause, country, and year. All economic values are reported in 2011 purchasing power parity-adjusted US dollars. All simulations were done with R, version 3.6.0. FINDINGS: exposure. INTERPRETATION: pollution potentially widens the health inequities for older people. Countries with severe air pollution and rapid ageing rates need to take immediate actions to improve air quality. In addition, strategies aimed at enhancing health-care services, especially targeting the older population, could be beneficial for reducing the health costs of ambient air pollution. FUNDING: National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, and Qiushi Foundation.

Near-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Nature Communications · 2020 · 795 citations

• Environmental science
• Geography
• Meteorology

) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic's effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.

Exploring the trade-offs between electric heating policy and carbon mitigation in China

Nature Communications · 2020 · 220 citations

• Environmental science
• Natural resource economics
• Materials science

could potentially be emitted if EHP was implemented in 45-55% of rural residents in Northern China. In 2020, the incremental carbon emission is expected to reach 130.03-197.87 megatons. Fortunately, the growth of carbon emission will slow down due to China's urbanization progress. In 2030, the carbon emission increase induced by EHP will drop to 119.19-177.47 megatons. Finally, we conclude two kinds of practical pathways toward low-carbon electric heating, and provide techno-economic analyses.