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Title: Valuing the ozone-related health benefits of methane emission controls

Abstract

Methane is a greenhouse gas that oxidizes to form ground-level ozone, itself a greenhouse gas and a health-harmful air pollutant. Reducing methane emissions will both slow anthropogenic climate change and reduce ozone-related mortality. We estimate the benefits of reducing methane emissions anywhere in the world for ozone-related premature mortality globally and for eight geographic regions. Our methods are consistent with those used by the US Government to estimate the social cost of carbon (SCC). We find that the global short- and long-term premature mortality benefits due to reduced ozone production from methane mitigation are (2011) $790 and $1775 per tonne methane, respectively. These correspond to approximately 70 and 150 % of the valuation of methane’s global climate impacts using the SCC after extrapolating from carbon dioxide to methane using global warming potential estimates. Results for monetized benefits are sensitive to a number of factors, particularly the choice of elasticity to income growth used when calculating the value of a statistical life. The benefits increase for emission years further in the future. Regionally, most of the global mortality benefits accrue in Asia, but 10 % accrue in the United States. As a result, this methodology can be used to assess themore » benefits of methane emission reductions anywhere in the world, including those achieved by national and multinational policies.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (United States)
  2. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  3. Environmental Health Analytics, LLC, Washington, D.C. (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1251564
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Environmental and Resource Economics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Environmental and Resource Economics; Journal ID: ISSN 0924-6460
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; methane; ozone; mortality; air pollution; SCC

Citation Formats

Sarofim, Marcus C., Waldhoff, Stephanie T., and Anenberg, Susan C. Valuing the ozone-related health benefits of methane emission controls. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1007/s10640-015-9937-6.
Sarofim, Marcus C., Waldhoff, Stephanie T., & Anenberg, Susan C. Valuing the ozone-related health benefits of methane emission controls. United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-015-9937-6
Sarofim, Marcus C., Waldhoff, Stephanie T., and Anenberg, Susan C. 2015. "Valuing the ozone-related health benefits of methane emission controls". United States. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-015-9937-6. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1251564.
@article{osti_1251564,
title = {Valuing the ozone-related health benefits of methane emission controls},
author = {Sarofim, Marcus C. and Waldhoff, Stephanie T. and Anenberg, Susan C.},
abstractNote = {Methane is a greenhouse gas that oxidizes to form ground-level ozone, itself a greenhouse gas and a health-harmful air pollutant. Reducing methane emissions will both slow anthropogenic climate change and reduce ozone-related mortality. We estimate the benefits of reducing methane emissions anywhere in the world for ozone-related premature mortality globally and for eight geographic regions. Our methods are consistent with those used by the US Government to estimate the social cost of carbon (SCC). We find that the global short- and long-term premature mortality benefits due to reduced ozone production from methane mitigation are (2011) $790 and $1775 per tonne methane, respectively. These correspond to approximately 70 and 150 % of the valuation of methane’s global climate impacts using the SCC after extrapolating from carbon dioxide to methane using global warming potential estimates. Results for monetized benefits are sensitive to a number of factors, particularly the choice of elasticity to income growth used when calculating the value of a statistical life. The benefits increase for emission years further in the future. Regionally, most of the global mortality benefits accrue in Asia, but 10 % accrue in the United States. As a result, this methodology can be used to assess the benefits of methane emission reductions anywhere in the world, including those achieved by national and multinational policies.},
doi = {10.1007/s10640-015-9937-6},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1251564}, journal = {Environmental and Resource Economics},
issn = {0924-6460},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Impacts and mitigation of excess diesel-related NOx emissions in 11 major vehicle markets
journal, May 2017


A quantitative approach to evaluating the GWP timescale through implicit discount rates
journal, January 2018


Health Effects of Energy Intensive Sectors and the Potential Health Co-Benefits of a Low Carbon Industrial Transition in China
journal, August 2019