A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Transcription

1 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: -213 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS 9 November 215

2 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Air Pollution Control in Beijing Beijing s rapid economic and urban growth has caused deterioration in its air quality. From to 213, the city s population grew by 7 per cent, the number of motorized vehicles increased by 33 per cent and energy consumption rose by 76 per cent. In, Beijing was highly dependent on coal for its energy needs, with annual coal consumption of up to 28 million tons. This coupled with the over one million vehicles in the city led to a change from coal-dominated to a mix of coal and vehicle-based air pollution. During that year, the air in Beijing had annual concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) of 3.3 mg/m 3, 12 μg/m3 and 74 μ g/m 3, respectively. The average Total Suspended Particulate Matter (TSP) concentration was as high as 431 and 348 µg/m 3 during the heating and non-heating seasons, respectively. Since, Beijing has launched comprehensive air pollution control programmes in phases. A review of control programmes, commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme, focused on coal-fired and vehicle emissions found that these measures are showing positive trends towards an improvement in air quality. Carbon monoxide and SO 2 levels are now below limits set by the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 4 mg/m 3 and 6 µg/m 3, respectively. Concentrations of NO 2 and PM 1 are also closer to meeting NAAQS at 4 µg/m 3 for NO2 and 7 µg/m 3 for PM1. Additional work, however, is needed to meet standards set by NAAQS and the World Health Organization Guideline for PM 1 and PM 2.5 and ultimately bring health and other benefits. Annual Concentration of Air Pollutants in Bejing, Annual concentration of SO 2 and PM 1 (µg/m 3 ) SO2 NO2 PM1 (left axis) CO (right axis) Annual concentration of CO (mg/m 2 )

3 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Reduction in Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants (-213) Coal and Natural Gas Consumption by the Power Sector in Beijing Coal consumption (Mt) Natural gas consumption (bcm) Coal consumption (Mt) NG consumption (bcm) Flickr Photo/ Kafka4Prez Annual coal consumption by the power sector in Beijing fell from a peak of 9 million tons in 25 to 6.44 million tons in 213 while natural gas consumption rose from to 1.85 billion cubic metres (bcm) between 24 and 213. Combined with end-of-pipe control measures, this helped reduce PM 2.5, PM 1, SO 2 and nitrogen oxides (NO X ) emissions from Beijing s power plants by 14,5 tons, 23,7 tons, 45, tons and 3,9 tons, respectively between and

4 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Reduction in Emissions from Coal-Fired Boilers (-213) A total of 14,3 tons, 24, tons, 136, tons and 48,7 tons of PM 2.5, PM 1, SO 2 and NO X emissions, respectively, were reduced from coal-fired boilers in three phases between and 213. Emission reduction (kt) NO x SO 2 PM 2.5 PM 1 Residential heating systems in old one-story buildings in selected areas of the city were refurbished in two phases to replace coal with electricity, resulting in the reduction of 63 tons, 87 tons, 2,7 tons and 79 tons of PM 2.5, PM1, SO 2 and NO x emissions respectively. Reduction in Coal-Fired Emissions in Residential Heating (23-213) Emission reduction (kt) NO x SO 2 PM 2.5 PM 1 3

5 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Reduction in Vehicular Emissions Beijing has been implementing integrated emission control measures for vehicles. The integrated package includes new vehicle control, in-use vehicle control, fuel quality improvement, promotion of clean energy and new energy vehicles, traffic management and economic measures such as economic incentives to promote the phasing out of older vehicles. Economic measures Traffic measures New vehicle control Vehicle emission control In-use vehicle control Better fuel quality Flickr Photo/Safia Osman Beijing is developing public transport, focused on rail-based modes and promoting slow-speed traffic modes (e.g., walking and biking). Beijing s urban subway has increased from 2 lines before 2 to 18 lines and 527 km of total rail mileage. The share of public transport increased from 26 per cent in 2 to 48 per cent by end of 214. Modes of Transportation in Beijing Urban passenger trip allocation by travel alone (%) Passenger Car Public Bus Subway Bike Taxi Other modes 4

6 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Reduction in Vehicular Emissions (-213) Vehicle emission (kt) Vehicle emission (kt) Vehicle emission (kt) CO THC NO x A series of comprehensive vehicle emission control measures have significantly reduced total vehicle emissions in Beijing. By 213, this had reduced vehicle emissions of CO, total hydrocarbons (THC), NO x and PM 2.5 by 95 thousand tonnes, 13 thousand tonnes, 43.1 thousand tonnes and 4.9 thousand tonnes compared with levels, representing reductions of 76 per cent, 72 per cent, 4 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. The reduction in NO X emissions was lower than other pollutants due to less improved NO X emission factors for heavy-duty diesel vehicles under urban road driving conditions Vehicle emission (kt) PM Estimated avoided emissions from phasing out older vehicles Estimated avoided emissions from tightening vehicle emissions Estimated avoided emissions from other controls Estimated current emissions 5

7 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Emission Reduction from Other Measures (212) An assessment of vehicular emission reductions in 212 resulting from a mix of measures improved fuel quality, enhanced inspection and maintenance (I/M) programme, promotion of alternative energy vehicles and traffic control including driving restrictions found CO 2, THC, NO x and PM 2.5 reductions of 292, tons, 32, tons, 14, tons and 6,7 tons, respectively. Flickr Photo/Alexandra Moss 1% 9% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% Modes of Transportation in Beijing % % CO 2 THC NO x PM2.5 Licence control and driving restrictions for passenger cars Penetration of alternative fuel vehicles Enhanced I/M programs Improvement in on-road fuel quality 6

8 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: PM 2.5 Levels in Beijing The annual concentration of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in Beijing was 89.5 μg/m 3 in 213, exceeding the annual limit set by the NAAQS by 156 per cent. PM 1 level was also 54 per cent higher. Regional Transport 28-36% Up to 5% 64% - 72% Local Emission Regional transportation emissions accounted for nearly a third of PM 2.5 concentration in Beijing. Local emission sources contributed the rest. Depending on the season, regional transport can account for more than half of PM 2.5 concentration. Local emission sources include on-road vehicles, coal combustion, industrial and construction activities and other sectors. PM2.5 Sources in Beijing, published by the Beijing FPB in 214 Miscellaneous 14.1 % Construction Dust 14.3 % PM 2.5 Souce Beijing FPB 214 Motor Vehicle 31.1 % Industrial Production Coal Consumption 18.1 % 22.4 % 7

9 A Review of Air Pollution Control in Beijing: Air Quality Monitoring (-213) Beijing has continued to develop its air quality monitoring and reporting system. This includes ambient air quality monitoring and forecasting, air pollution source apportionment, and data release. By 213, 35 ambient air quality monitoring substations were established across Beijing. Real-time data on concentrations of all six criteria air pollutants are released to the public through multiple channels. Location of automatic ambient air quality monitoring systems 8

10 In 214, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with support from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, commissioned a study to assess the effectiveness of air pollution control measures in Beijing and to develop recommendations. The study, conducted by a team of experts compring international and national experts, focused on three major areas: (i) energy structure optimization and coal-fired emission control, (ii) vehicle emission control, and (iii) air quality monitoring.