Assessing synergistic effects of GHGs and APs in typical resource-based urban areas:Co-abatement analysis, policy evaluation, and multi-scenario projections

Abstract

Resource-based cities are widely distributed across China and account for over 40 % of all cities. The synergistic control of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants (APs) in these cities is thus critical for the high-quality green development of China, yet research in this area remains relatively limited. Accordingly, this study first developed a bottom-up integrated emission inventory of GHGs and APs for a representative Chinese mature resource-based city and conducted a detailed synergistic analysis covering the identification of emission correlations, compositional characteristics, spatial distribution, co-emission hotspots, evaluation of sectoral co-reduction, environmental policy effectiveness, and multi-scenario emission projections. Results showed strong correlations between CO₂ and SO₂, NOx, CO, PM₁₀, and PM_2.5. The spatial distribution of individual emissions of GHGs and APs, as well as their co-emission hotspots, were mainly located in southeastern plains, densely populated areas, industrial parks, and major transport routes. The coke making and chemical fiber industries within the industrial sector exhibited a trend of co-emission reduction for both CO₂ and APs. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the “Three-year Action Plan to Fight Air Pollution” policy in improving the air quality of the study city was confirmed. In the future, the city should adopt more stringent and integrated strategies, including energy substitution, green technology upgrades, and resource recycling, to achieve co-benefits of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. This study provides a scientific basis for co-control policy development in resource-based cities.