Defining Environmental Externalities in a Changing Energy Landscape

This project focuses on NO2 and PM2.5, which are co-pollutants from fossil fuel consumption. We’ll discuss current regulatory models for addressing these pollutants, whether there’s an imbalance when factoring in associated health and environmental impacts, and look at 2023-2035. Will the heightened activity from large regional projects in the power and transportation sectors mean increased ambient concentrations on NO2 and PM2.5? What will the spatial breakdown of this look like in OBCs vs Non-OBCs? Does a (hypothetical) 10-15% increase in concentration necessarily equate to increased health impact risks? The EPA recently published prices for the social cost of one ton of emissions from many of the criteria pollutants, but that is not meant for the hyperlocal analysis we are performing. These don’t fit neatly into our sectors, but they can be used as a good starting point. We will develop policy options to encourage remedies to any potential imbalance that our modeling may find.