Vicious Cycle of Economic Growth, Pm2.5 and COVID-19 Case of G7 Countries

Author(s):  
Rıdvan Karacan

<p>Today, production is carried out depending on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels pollute the air as they contain high levels of carbon. Many studies have been carried out on the economic costs of air pollution. However, in the present study, unlike the former ones, economic growth's relationship with the COVID-19 virus in addition to air pollution was examined. The COVID-19 virus, which was initially reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and affected the whole world, has caused many cases and deaths. Researchers have been going on studying how the virus is transmitted. Some of these studies suggest that the number of virus-related cases increases in regions with a high level of air pollution. Based on this fact, it is thought that air pollution will increase the number of COVID-19 cases in G7 Countries where industrial production is widespread. Therefore, the negative aspects of economic growth, which currently depends on fossil fuels, is tried to be revealed. The research was carried out for the period between 2000-2019. Panel cointegration test and panel causality analysis were used for the empirical analysis. Particulate matter known as PM2.5[1] was used as an indicator of air pollution. Consequently, a positive long-term relationship has been identified between PM2.5 and economic growth. This relationship also affects the number of COVID-19 cases.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>[1] "Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that poses the greatest risk to health globally, affecting more people than any other pollutant (WHO, 2018). Chronic exposure to PM2.5 considerably increases the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in particular (WHO, 2018). For these reasons, population exposure to (outdoor or ambient) PM2.5 has been identified as an OECD Green Growth headline indicator" (OECD.Stat).</p>

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rıdvan Karacan

<p>Today, production is carried out depending on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels pollute the air as they contain high levels of carbon. Many studies have been carried out on the economic costs of air pollution. However, in the present study, unlike the former ones, economic growth's relationship with the COVID-19 virus in addition to air pollution was examined. The COVID-19 virus, which was initially reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and affected the whole world, has caused many cases and deaths. Researchers have been going on studying how the virus is transmitted. Some of these studies suggest that the number of virus-related cases increases in regions with a high level of air pollution. Based on this fact, it is thought that air pollution will increase the number of COVID-19 cases in G7 Countries where industrial production is widespread. Therefore, the negative aspects of economic growth, which currently depends on fossil fuels, is tried to be revealed. The research was carried out for the period between 2000-2019. Panel cointegration test and panel causality analysis were used for the empirical analysis. Particulate matter known as PM2.5[1] was used as an indicator of air pollution. Consequently, a positive long-term relationship has been identified between PM2.5 and economic growth. This relationship also affects the number of COVID-19 cases.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>[1] "Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant that poses the greatest risk to health globally, affecting more people than any other pollutant (WHO, 2018). Chronic exposure to PM2.5 considerably increases the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in particular (WHO, 2018). For these reasons, population exposure to (outdoor or ambient) PM2.5 has been identified as an OECD Green Growth headline indicator" (OECD.Stat).</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geetanjali Kaushik ◽  
Arvind Chel ◽  
Sangeeta Shinde ◽  
Ashish Gadekar

Almost 670 million people comprising 54.5% of our population reside in regions that do not meet the Indian NAAQS for fine particulate matter. Numerous studies have revealed a consistent correlation for particulate matter concentration with health than any other air pollutant. Aurangabad city a rapidly growing city with population of 1.5 million is home to five major industrial areas, the city is also known for its historical monuments which might also be adversely affected from air pollution. Therefore, this research aims at estimating PM10 concentrations at several locations across Aurangabad. The concentration of PM10 was highest at the Railway Station followed by Waluj (an industrial zone) and City chowk is the centre of the city which has high population, tall buildings, few open spaces which causes high congestion and does not allow the particulates to disperse. Other locations with high concentrations of PM are Mill corner, Harsul T-point, Kranti Chowk, Seven Hill, TV centre and Beed Bye pass. All these locations have narrow roads, high traffic density, poor road condition with pot holes and few crossing points which cause congestion and vehicle idling which are responsible for high pollution. Therefore, it is evident that air pollution is a serious issue in the city which may be further aggravated if it is not brought under control. Hence, strategies have to be adopted for combating the menace of air pollution.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTVolume-5, Issue-2, March-May 2016, Page :61-74


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (32) ◽  
pp. 18984-18990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zander S. Venter ◽  
Kristin Aunan ◽  
Sourangsu Chowdhury ◽  
Jos Lelieveld

The lockdown response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused an unprecedented reduction in global economic and transport activity. We test the hypothesis that this has reduced tropospheric and ground-level air pollution concentrations, using satellite data and a network of >10,000 air quality stations. After accounting for the effects of meteorological variability, we find declines in the population-weighted concentration of ground-level nitrogen dioxide (NO2: 60% with 95% CI 48 to 72%), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5: 31%; 95% CI: 17 to 45%), with marginal increases in ozone (O3: 4%; 95% CI: −2 to 10%) in 34 countries during lockdown dates up until 15 May. Except for ozone, satellite measurements of the troposphere indicate much smaller reductions, highlighting the spatial variability of pollutant anomalies attributable to complex NOxchemistry and long-distance transport of fine particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5). By leveraging Google and Apple mobility data, we find empirical evidence for a link between global vehicle transportation declines and the reduction of ambient NO2exposure. While the state of global lockdown is not sustainable, these findings allude to the potential for mitigating public health risk by reducing “business as usual” air pollutant emissions from economic activities. Explore trends here:https://nina.earthengine.app/view/lockdown-pollution.


Author(s):  
Tuo Shi ◽  
Yuanman Hu ◽  
Miao Liu ◽  
Chunlin Li ◽  
Chuyi Zhang ◽  
...  

With China’s rapid development, urban air pollution problems occur frequently. As one of the principal components of haze, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has potential negative health effects, causing widespread concern. However, the causal interactions and dynamic relationships between socioeconomic factors and ambient air pollution are still unclear, especially in specific regions. As an important industrial base in Northeast China, Liaoning Province is a representative mode of social and economic development. Panel data including PM2.5 concentration and three socio-economic indicators of Liaoning Province from 2000 to 2015 were built. The data were first-difference stationary and the variables were cointegrated. The Granger causality test was used as the main method to test the causality. In the results, in terms of the causal interactions, economic activities, industrialization and urbanization processes all showed positive long-term impacts on changes of PM2.5 concentration. Economic growth and industrialization also significantly affected the variations in PM2.5 concentration in the short term. In terms of the contributions, industrialization contributed the most to the variations of PM2.5 concentration in the sixteen years, followed by economic growth. Though Liaoning Province, an industry-oriented region, has shown characteristics of economic and industrial transformation, policy makers still need to explore more targeted policies to address the regional air pollution issue.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7328
Author(s):  
Saeed Solaymani

Iran, endowed with abundant renewable and non-renewable energy resources, particularly non-renewable resources, faces challenges such as air pollution, climate change and energy security. As a leading exporter and consumer of fossil fuels, it is also attempting to use renewable energy as part of its energy mix toward energy security and sustainability. Due to its favorable geographic characteristics, Iran has diverse and accessible renewable sources, which provide appropriate substitutes to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Therefore, this study aims to examine trends in energy demand, policies and development of renewable energies and the causal relationship between renewable and non-renewable energies and economic growth using two methodologies. This study first reviews the current state of energy and energy policies and then employs Granger causality analysis to test the relationships between the variables considered. Results showed that renewable energy technologies currently do not have a significant and adequate role in the energy supply of Iran. To encourage the use of renewable energy, especially in electricity production, fuel diversification policies and development program goals were introduced in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Diversifying energy resources is a key pillar of Iran’s new plan. In addition to solar and hydropower, biomass from the municipal waste from large cities and other agricultural products, including fruits, can be used to generate energy and renewable sources. While present policies indicate the incorporation of sustainable energy sources, further efforts are needed to offset the use of fossil fuels. Moreover, the study predicts that with the production capacity of agricultural products in 2018, approximately 4.8 billion liters of bioethanol can be obtained from crop residues and about 526 thousand tons of biodiesel from oilseeds annually. Granger’s causality analysis also shows that there is a unidirectional causal relationship between economic growth to renewable and non-renewable energy use. Labor force and gross fixed capital formation cause renewable energy consumption, and nonrenewable energy consumption causes renewable energy consumption.


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