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Air pollution has been one of the biggest environmental challenges for cities in their pursuit of sustainability. The removal of air pollutants usually entails a cost that can negatively impact economic activities. Assessing urban environmental performance can offer valuable insights for cities to balance their economic production and environmental protection. This paper develops a novel approach to measuring environmental performance by using the Euclidean distance function. An appealing feature of this approach is its ability in endogenously allocating the optimization pathway to each emitter, thereby avoiding arbitrary estimation results and distorted managerial implications. We apply this approach to study the environmental performance of Chinese key environmental protection cities. We find the heterogeneity in performance estimates and endogenous optimization pathways. Prioritizing the reduction of a specific type of emissions while simultaneously increasing industrial output value seems to be the most appropriate objective for the majority of cities. Our study can serve as a basis for urban governments to pinpoint the underlying factors contributing to low urban environmental performance and establish diverse objectives for enhancing environmental performance. • Environmental performance index is constructed based on endogenous directions. • A Euclidean distance function is used to identify endogenous directions. • Optimization pathways and environmental performance show heterogeneity among cities. • Mitigating NO x emissions can improve environmental performance significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is an inevitable negative environmental externality in the process of industrialization and urbanization in countries around the world. Land misallocation in the process of urbanization and industrialization and the resulting urban sprawl exacerbates the above problems. As a major country in the stage of rapid urbanization and industrialization, China also faces severe air pollution problems. Therefore, this paper will systematically study the impact of land misallocation and urban sprawl on air pollution. We first set up the utility maximization problem of each economic entity in the process of land misallocation in the mathematical model, and form a general equilibrium theory model to analyze the relationship between land misallocation, urban sprawl and air pollution, and then put forward the research hypotheses. We further use the big data of land market transactions of China Land Market Network and LandScan global population data to build the land misallocation index and urban sprawl index respectively, and use an extended mediating effect model to empirically test the hypotheses. The results suggest that the effect of land misallocation on air pollution is significantly positive, and the impact of land misallocation on urban sprawl largely depends on the return rate of land relative to labor (RRIRL). When the RRIRL is relatively low, the impact is weak, or even has a negative effect to some extent. At this time, low transportation costs are conducive to reducing air pollution. On the contrary, when the RRIRL is relatively high, land misallocation has a significant role in promoting urban sprawl. At this time, high traffic costs are conducive to reducing air pollution. In addition, we also find that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between urban sprawl and air pollution. When the urban sprawl level is low, its impact on air pollution increases with the increase of its level, but once it exceeds a specific node, the impact will decrease. Based on the characteristics of the relationship among land misallocation, urban sprawl and air pollution under different RRIRL, we summarize four environmentally friendly urban development paths. We bring the land bid rent theory and environmental pollution research into a same theoretical model framework, which provides a modeling idea and research perspective with a micro-foundation for subsequent research on land misallocation. We integrate the research conclusions of existing literature and unify them under the research frameworks concerning different RRIRL in the empirical results, which greatly improving their applicability. The four urban development paths summarized in this paper will also provide inspiration for future researchers and policy makers. • We posit that urban sprawl is an important intermediate mechanism by which land misallocation affects air pollution. • We build a general equilibrium framework. • Land misallocation leads to an increase in air pollutant concentrations. • Land misallocation has a nonlinear impact on air pollution by restraining urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Assessment Model provides a useful framework for evaluating different aspects of air quality policies, spanning from abatement measures to emissions, concentrations, health impacts and costs. These models are then useful to provide a holistic view of the impacts of policies, so that ex-ante one can evaluate how various policies will impact air concentrations, health benefits and implementation costs. Among these Integrated Assessment Models, SHERPA (Screening for High Emission Potentials on Air) has been recently used to evaluate the impact of policies, covering all aspects from measures to health, but without being able to provide the dimension related to abatement measures costs. In this paper we fill this gap, developing a module able to associate to a SHERPA scenario its related implementation costs. This paper describes how this module has been developed and provide a concrete application of this tool. Results of this module can be useful to provide a full cost-benefit analysis of alternative policies based on technological changes, covering both internal costs (costs of abatement measures) and external costs (related to human health impacts of air quality). • A new module on cost calculation is implemented in SHERPA. • A first step consists in digesting the GAINS data to produce an actionable statistic cost database. • A second step explores this database within SHERPA to determine the costs. • An example of application is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient air pollution is a major public health concern impacting all aspects of human health. There is a lack of studies on the impact of ambient air pollution on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older Chinese adults. Our study answers two questions: How concentrations of ambient air pollutants are associated with HRQoL among older adults in China and, second, what are the possible mechanisms through which ambient air pollution affects HRQoL. From the 2018 National Health Service Survey, we sampled 5717 aged 65 years or older residents for the eastern province of Shandong, China. Data on individual exposures to PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter with diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm and 10 μm) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2) were collected from the ChinaHighAirPollutants (CHAP) datasets. Mixed-effects Tobit regression models and mixed-effects ordered Probit regression models were employed to examine the associations of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level Version (EQ-5D-3L) scale comprising mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Socioeconomic, demographic and behavioral factors relating to HRQoL were also examined. The results show that for each 1 μg/m3 increase, EQ-5D-3L scores fell 0.002 for PM 2.5 ; 0.001 for PM 10 and 0.002 for SO 2. Long term exposure to PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SO 2 were also associated with increased prevalence of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The reduced HRQoL effects of ambient air pollution were exacerbated by higher socioeconomic status (affluent, urban and higher level of education). Our findings suggested that HRQoL of older Chinese adults was not only associated with demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors, but also negatively correlated with air pollution, especially through increased pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The paper proposes policy recommendations. [Display omitted] • Ambient air pollution was associated with lower HRQoL among older adults in China. • Long term air pollution was associated with increased prevalence of pain and anxiety. • The reduced HRQoL effects was exacerbated by higher socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production restriction is an environmental regulation adopted in China to curb the air pollution of industrial enterprises. Frequent production restrictions may cause economic losses for enterprises and further hinder their green transformation. Polluting enterprises are faced with the dilemma of choosing environmental protection or economic development. Using panel data on industrial enterprises in China from 2016 to 2019, this paper evaluates the impact of production restrictions on both enterprises' environmental and economic performance with regression models. The results show that production restrictions significantly drop the concentrations of SO2 and NOx emitted from polluting enterprises. Meanwhile, production restrictions have significant negative effects on operating income, financial expenses, net profit, and environmental protection investment. The mechanism analysis reveals that production restrictions mitigate air pollutant concentrations by increasing the number of green patents and improving total factor productivity, which also verifies the Porter hypothesis. However, there is a masking mediating effect of environmental investment, which indicates that the reduction of environmental investment hinders the enterprise's efforts to control air pollution. In addition, heterogeneous analysis shows that the economic shock on microenterprises is larger than that on small enterprises. Implementing production restrictions for microenterprises may be a way to eliminate their backwards production capacity. • Production restriction dropped air pollutants of polluting enterprises. • Production restriction has negative effects on business performance of enterprises. • TFP and green innovation are the mediating variables of pollution reduction. • The reduction of environmental investment hinders the pollution control. • The shocks to the business performance of microenterprises are larger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the compensation standard for exhaust pollution and devises a compensation mechanism for Macao's tourism-related transport sector based on an integration of chemical exergy and universal exergy, using data on gasoline consumption by automobile sector retrieved from the transportation industry. The results reveal that: (1) the exergy values of air pollutant emissions increased from 1.53 × 1012 kJ in 2010 to 2.03 × 1012 kJ in 2019 (an increase of 1.33 times), and the exergy of CO, NO x , and SO 2 emissions accounted for 77.5%, 20.4% and 2.1% of total exhaust emissions in Macao respectively. (2) In 2019, the monetary value of emission exergy, and the environmental costs of air pollution, were 1.7 times greater than in 2010. (3) If Light Rail Transit is compensated for, then the mean interval's values of the upper and lower limits of the compensation standard are 0.55 USD and 0.05 USD, respectively. When gasoline tax is used as a means of compensation it is necessary to raise its rate by about 8% based on the tax rate. A three-stage bargaining game model is used to provide evidence that this compensation standard is practical and acceptable. • Emission exergy was applied to uniformly assess automobile emissions. • Universal exergy assists in monetizing environmental cost accounting. • Air pollution compensation criteria for tourism land traffic were calculated. • The compensation criteria were further refined by a game model. • A compensation mechanism that includes subsidies and taxes was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has made great efforts in air pollutant reduction and carried out strict regulation policies. Since numerous air pollutants and CO 2 tend to have the same root, source, and process, recent studies argue that environmental regulation may also contribute to reducing carbon emissions. To investigate how various types of environmental regulations affect carbon emissions reduction, this paper constructs the spatial Durbin model and panel threshold model based on provincial panel data in China during 2003–2019. The main findings are as follows: First, China's net carbon emissions show a decreasing trend from east to west, displaying significant spatial agglomeration characteristics. Then, formal and informal environmental regulations have inverted U-shaped impacts on net carbon emissions. The "green paradox" and "reverse emission reduction" effects come into play at different stages. Finally, the threshold model reveals that with the improvement of regional technological innovation levels, the carbon-reducing effect of environmental regulation will increasingly come to the fore. These research findings are conducive to providing theoretical guidance for government to formulate and implement environmental regulation policies rationally. • Carbon sink effect is considered in the carbon emissions assessment framework. • The spatial spillover and threshold effects of environmental regulation is studied. • Environmental regulation has an inverted U-shaped impact on net carbon emissions. • Technological innovation level exerts a threshold effect between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are the main sources of air pollutants such as ammonia (NH 3) and greenhouse gases. Among air pollutants, NH 3 is one of the most concerned gasses in terms of air quality, environmental impacts, and manure nutrient losses. It is recommended that NH 3 concentrations in the poultry house should be controlled below 25 ppm. Otherwise, the poor air quality will impair the health and welfare of animals and their caretakers. After releasing from poultry houses, NH 3 contributes to the form of fine particulate matters in the air and acidify soil and water bodies after deposition. Therefore, understanding the emission influential factors and impacts is critical for developing mitigation strategies to protect animals' welfare and health, environment, and ecosystems. This review paper summarized the primary NH 3 emission influential factors, such as how poultry housing systems, seasonal changes, feed management, bedding materials, animal densities, and animals' activities can impact indoor air quality and emissions. A higher level of NH 3 (e.g., >25 ppm) results in lower production efficiency and poor welfare and health, e.g., respiratory disorder, less feed intake, lower growth rates or egg production, poor feed use efficiency, increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, and mortality. In addition, the egg quality (e.g., albumen height, pH, and condensation) was reduced after laying hens chronically exposed to high NH 3 levels. High NH 3 levels have detrimental effects on farm workers' health as it is a corrosive substance to eyes, skin, and respiratory tract, and thus may cause blindness, irritation (throat, nose, eyes), and lung illness. For controlling poultry house NH 3 levels and emissions, we analyzed various mitigation strategies such as litter additives, biofiltration, acid scrubber, dietary manipulation, and bedding materials. Litter additives were tested with 50% efficiency in broiler houses and 80–90% mitigation efficiency for cage-free hen litter at a higher application rate (0.9 kg m−2). Filtration systems such as multi-stage acid scrubbers have up to 95% efficiency on NH 3 mitigation. However, cautions should be paid as mitigation strategies could be cost prohibitive for farmers, which needs assistances or subsidies from governments. • Ammonia emissions from poultry production are environmental concerns. • High levels of NH 3 can impact animals and their caretakers' health. • Emission influential factors in different poultry houses were categorized. • Mitigation strategies for NH 3 control were summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the spatiotemporal characteristics of air pollutants in urban agglomerations and their response factors will help to improve the quality of urban living. In combining air quality monitoring data and wavelet analysis from the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA), this study assessed the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influential factors of air pollutants on daily, monthly and annual scales. The results showed that the concentration of air pollutants in the CCUA has decreased year by year, and air quality has improved. Except for O 3 , pollutants in autumn and winter were higher than those in summer. The spatial distribution of air pollutants was obvious distributed in Chengdu, Chongqing, Zigong and Dazhou. Pollution incidents were mainly concentrated in winter. The 6 air pollutants and air quality index (AQI) have dominant periods on multiple time scales. AQI showed positive coherence with PM 2.5 and PM 10 on multiple time scales, and obvious positive coherence with SO 2 , CO, NO 2 and O 3 in the short term scale. AQI was not strongly correlated with the fire point, but exhibited obvious negative coherence in the long term scale. In addition, AQI showed an obvious positive correlation with temperature and sunshine hours in short term, and a clear negative correlation with humidity and rainfall. The research results of this paper will provide a reference for pollution prevention and control in the CCUA. • Wavelet and IDW used to analysis air pollutants spatiotemporal characteristics. • Air pollutants shows obvious periodicity and mutation. • There is a certain correlation between AQI and wild burning sites. • Rainfall and humidity have a scrubbing effect on air pollutants. • The research results can provide policy basis to improve air quality in region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green credit policy (GCP) can achieve economic growth and environmental conservation, notably by lowering air pollutants (PM2.5). Green credit is a significant component of China's green financing for environmental regulation and achieving carbon neutrality. In this paper, to understand the causal relationship between GCP and PM2.5, we apply a bootstrap full-sample Granger causality test, parameter stability test, and quantile-on-quantile test for the period between 2003:M01 to 2019:M12. The result shows a bidirectional relationship and reveals that GCP has varied environmental implications in its early and mature stages because of a low percentage of green credit and a lack of motivation for financial institutions. In the long run, GCP and PM2.5 interaction confirm the favorable effects of GCP on PM2.5 as the green credit system improves. For robustness, we used quantile-based granger causality to evaluate the causative link between GCP and PM2.5. In light of the findings, this research advises legislative reforms and stresses the relevance of green credit in improving air quality. This study adds additional evidence that air pollution affects green credit policies. Air quality being a leading indicator helps firms anticipate changes in bank credit preferences and alter financing techniques. • The study explores the causal relationship between GCP and PM2.5 • The study used advanced econometrics methods for the period 2003:M01 to 2019:M12. • The result shows a bidirectional relationship between GCP and PM2.5. • GCP has a positive influence on PM2.5 as the green credit system improves. • This study adds further evidence that air pollution affects green credit policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) not only affected health and economics, but also its effect extended to include other aspects, such as the environment. Using Egypt as a case study, this paper presents the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on air pollution levels by studying nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), ozone (O 3), particulate matter represented in absorbing aerosol index (AAI), carbon monoxide (CO), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The paper also highlights the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on other environmental indicators including environmental noise, medical and municipal solid wastes. The paper presents the Egyptian COVID-19 story from its different angles including the development of confirmed COVID-19 cases, containment measures from the government, the impact on the country's economy and the national energy consumption so as to effectively evaluate the effect on both the air pollution levels and the other studied environmental indicators. For the other environmental indicators, a strong link was observed between COVID-19 lockdown and the reduction in environmental noise, beaches, surface and groundwater pollution. For environmental noise, this has been confirmed by officially governmental announcements which reported that the level of environmental noise in Egypt was reduced by about 75% during the lockdown period. On the other hand, there are some negative effects, including an increase in medical solid waste (from 70 to 300 ton/day), municipal solid waste, as well as a less efficient solid waste recycling process. For air pollution levels, the data were obtained from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency satellite data sets. The data for the lockdown period in 2020 have been extracted and compared to the corresponding months in the selected baseline period (2015–2019) to identify the effect that the lockdown period had on the air pollution levels in Egypt with focus on Cairo and Alexandria governorates. It was found that the AAI decreased by about 30%, the NO 2 decreased by 15 and 33% over Cairo and Alexandria governorates, respectively, and that the CO decreased by about 5% over both governorates. In addition, the GHG emissions in Egypt were reduced by at least 4% during the pandemic. In contrast, ozone levels increased by about 2% over Cairo and Alexandria governorates. It can be concluded that the implemented containment measures during COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in both positive and negative environmental impacts. The positive environmental impacts are not sustainable and deterioration on them is expected to occur after the lockdown as it was before the pandemic. Therefore, stricter laws must be enacted to protect the environment in Egypt. Image 1 • NO 2 decreased over Cairo (~ 15%) and Alexandria (~ 33%). • AAI and GHG emissions of Egypt decreased by about 30% and 4%, respectively. • An increase in ozone level (2%) and a reduction in CO (5%) over Cairo and Alexandria. • Reduction in environmental noise, beaches, surface and groundwater pollution. • Increase municipal and medical wastes and less efficient waste recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a large body of literature on the calculations of costs of air emissions from shipping, calculations of damages to the marine water are missing. This paper calculated the costs of NO x emissions from shipping entering an environmentally heterogeneous sea by applying the abatement cost approach. The total costs and unit shadow cost of NO x were then calculated by means of the marginal abatement cost for international agreements on targets of nitrogen loads to the sea. This conceptual model highlighted the need to distinguish between direct emissions of NO x on the sea and indirect emissions through deposition of emissions on land in the catchment with subsequent transportation into the sea. Calculated total cost amounted to 240 million euros, where indirect deposition accounted for 23% of the costs. The unit shadow costs ranged between 1.41 and 3.69 euros/kg NO x -N depending on location of the vessel. • Abatement cost approach for calculating external cost of NO x emissions. • Indirect deposition to the Baltic Sea accounts for 26% of the emissions from shipping. • Total cost to the Baltic Sea of NO x emission of shipping in the Sea is 240 million euros. • Unit shadow cost ranges between 1.40 and 3.69 euro/kg N depending on emission location. • Unit shadow cost of indirect emission can be higher than for direct emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative governance plays an important role in air pollution prevention (APP). This paper aims to evaluate the policy effects of collaborative governance for APP in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, analyze the collaborative mechanism from the perspective of institutional collective action (ICA) theory, and discuss its implications for improving the policy effects and regional collaboration. First, the causal relationship between collaborative environmental governance and air pollutant reduction is confirmed using the regression discontinuity design (RDD). However, it is also established that regional APP policies initiated by the Regional Cooperation Office of Yangtze River Delta (RCOYRD) did not have a long-term effect on reducing air pollutants. Second, initiative heterogeneity and administrative hierarchy heterogeneity of policy effects between cities are analyzed. It demonstrates that the mechanism formulated by RCOYRD has very limited impact on the reduction of transaction costs and collaborative risks of collaborative environmental governance. Third, clear division of responsibilities, balanced cost-benefit sharing, and coordinated enforcement between local governments are needed to improve the policy effects of collaborative governance for APP. • Institutional collective action (ICA) framework was adopted to analyze cross-regional issues. • The causal relationship between collaborative governance and air pollutant reduction was confirmed with RDD method. • The collaborative governance for air pollution prevention did not have long-term policy effect. • Collaboration risk and transaction cost are key factors affecting regional coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of non-thermal plasma (NTP) generators in air processing systems and their duct networks to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) has grown considerably in recent years. This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of NTP generators for IAQ improvement in biological, chemical and particulate pollutant terms. Also, it assesses and compares the ability of a multipin corona discharge (MPCD) and a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) generator to reduce the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in recycled, unfiltered air in a refrigeration chamber. The MPCD generator was found to have a higher PM2.5 removal efficiency; also, it was faster in removing pollutants, used less energy, and produced much less ozone. The fact that the MPCD generator performed better was seemingly the result of its increased ion production mainly. NTP generators, however, cannot match air filtration media purifiers in this respect as the latter are much more effective in removing particles. Besides, NTP-based air purifying technology continues to be subject to a major drawback, namely: the formation of ozone as a by-product. In any case, the ozone generation was uncorrelated to ion emission when using different technologies. • Non-Thermal Plasma technology is becoming more popular in indoor air management. • Non-Thermal Plasma technology is able to remove various pollutants from the air. • Corona and dielectric barrier discharge are technologies used to generate cold plasma. • Multipin Corona Discharge shows better efficiency removing fine particles than Dielectric Barrier Discharge. • Ozone still being a problem in the use of Non-Thermal Plasma systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between urbanization and pollutant emissions in China is of great significance to realizing sustainable development. Previous studies focused on the relationship between urbanization and air pollutants in China. However, the relationship between urbanization and industrial or domestic pollutants remains unclear. In this paper, we used the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model to examine whether an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) relationship exists between urbanization and pollutant emissions, including industrial wastewater, industrial SO 2 , industrial soot (dust), and domestic garbage based on panel data for 277 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2015. We found that industrial soot (dust) emissions and domestic garbage increased by 83.0% and 43.5%, respectively, whereas industrial wastewater discharge and SO 2 emissions decreased by 7.4% and 10.5%, respectively. The identified inverted U-shaped relationship between the urbanization ratio (i.e., percentage of the population living in urban areas) and industrial pollutants supports the EKC hypothesis. However, the domestic garbage volume increased with increasing urbanization ratio. In the future, more attention should be paid to the prevention and control of domestic pollution. In addition, small and medium-sized cities should reduce pollutant emissions and determine effective ways to achieve sustainable development. • The EKC hypothesis for industrial/domestic pollution in China was tested. • An inverted U-shaped relation was identified between urbanization and industrial pollution. • Domestic pollution increased along urbanization ratio in China. • Large cities started to experience declines in pollution after 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power industry of China plays an important role in reducing the carbon dioxide (CO 2) and air pollutant emissions. This paper focuses on synergistic CO 2 and air pollution emission reduction by implementing technical and structural measures, and explores the processes aimed at achieving the co-benefits of carbon reduction and air pollution control effectively in the power industry at a local level. The results of the analysis show that the structural measures achieve overall co-benefits, and the technical measures have a good effect in reducing the air pollution, but simultaneously increase CO 2 emissions because of the additional electricity used for running air pollution control devices (APCDs). Based on the analysis of the power generation incremental cost and pollutant emission reduction cost, cost-effective approaches to attain different emission reduction targets are proposed to the power industry in four case regions. These approaches can provide policy makers and stakeholders useful and relevant policy and operation recommendations to reduce CO 2 and air pollution emissions cost-effectively and promote low carbon sustainability in the power industry of China. • China's power industry plays an important role in reducing CO 2 and air pollutants. • Technical and structural measures of reducing CO 2 and air pollutants are analyzed. • Structural measures achieve overall co-benefits. • Technical measures have a good effect in reducing pollutants, but increase CO 2. • Cost-effective approaches are formed to cut CO2 and air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest exporter and may release lots of air pollutants to produce exported commodities due to taking coal as its main source of energy. Processing exports play a significant role in Chinese exports, yet previous studies of embodied air pollutants in Chinese exports failed to distinguish processing exports from normal exports. This paper investigates the effect of trade heterogeneity on the estimation of embodied emissions by re-examining the embodied air pollutants in Chinese exports based on an extended non-competitive input-output table that distinguishes processing from normal exports. The results show that processing exports generate 22.81% of the value added embodied in gross exports and 16.48% of the emissions embodied in gross exports. The embodied air pollutants in Chinese exports would be overestimated by 12%–22% without accounting for trade heterogeneity. Unequal distributions of export-related air pollutants and value added exist among different sectors. In particular, Manufacturing of Electronics and Communication Equipment sector induces 39.56% of embodied emissions in processing exports, and 41.78% of which are generated by Production and Supply of Electric Power and Steam Hot Water sector. China's restrictions on processing exports should focus not only on the direct emissions generated by each sector but also on the emissions embodied in domestic supply chains. • Embodied air pollutants are reexamined by accounting for trade heterogeneity. • Flows of embodied emissions for both processing and normal exports are tracked. • Export-related air pollutants and value added are analyzed from sector level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]