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From 1990 to 2017, the number of vehicles in China increased sharply from 5 million to 310 million, and vehicle emissions became one of the major sources of air pollution. Among the main sources of PM 2.5 in Beijing, the contributions from vehicle sources increased from 5.6% (2000) to 31.1% (2012) to 45% (2017). In 2010, the CO, hydrocarbon (HC), NO x , and particulate matter (PM) emissions of yellow-label vehicles (YLVs) accounted for 46.1%, 47.9%, 63.1% and 86.1% of the total emissions from on-road vehicles. In recent years, China has been implementing a YLV scrappage subsidy policy to control air pollution, and this policy has cost several hundred billion yuan nationwide. However, China has not evaluated the costs and benefits of the policy. Many people question whether the YLV scrappage subsidy policy is worthwhile, but all the stakeholders involved complicate the process of accurately evaluating the true value of the policy. In this study, we evaluated and compared the costs and benefits of the policy in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region based on 1.362 million YLVs from 2008 to 2015. Because of the implementation of the policy, the PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO x , CO and HC emissions in the BTH region decreased by 16.46, 18.12, 174.44, 669.11, and 91.64 kt, respectively, in 2008–2015. The results show that the policy played an important role in reducing pollutant emissions and improving environmental quality in the BTH region. The costs, benefits, and net benefits of the policy were 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan , respectively. The cost-benefit ratio in the BTH region was 1:2.49; at the city scale, Beijing ranked first (1:7.27), and the cost-benefit ratios of Tianjin and Hebei Province were 1:2.06 and 1:1.14, respectively. Of the 13 cities in the BTH region, Beijing had the highest net benefits, amounting to 16.43 billion yuan , while Handan City has the lowest net benefits, amounting to −0.58 billion yuan. The results may provide scientific support for the promotion of older vehicle and diesel vehicle scrappage subsidy policies, the development of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and effective environmental decision-making in China. • Based on net number of scrappage YLVs, net benefits of the policy are calculated. • This paper estimates costs and benefits of the policy based on 1.27 million YLVs. • The costs, benefits, and net benefits are 13.69, 34.03, and 20.34 billion yuan. • The results help China promote vehicle scrappage subsidy policy on a large scale. • The results promote the development of the cost-benefit analysis in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Communist Party is consolidating one party rule under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Beijing seeks to rule by central mandate while limiting local autonomy. The central government response to the COVID‐19 public health emergency reinforces this view. In January 2020 Beijing established the Central Epidemic Response Leading Group to mobilise a comprehensive nationwide policy effort to contain the virus. The exceptional nature of the COVID‐19 national emergency allows the central government to project power over local authorities and leverage over citizens, but we argue that this is a short‐term phenomenon because local disease control initiatives remain important, with local authorities adapting national policies to meet constituent needs. There are degrees of policy discretion and divergence at the subnational level that enable context‐specific responses to the virus within China's strict bureaucratic hierarchy. Primary data derives from interviews and observations in Nancun village, Hebei Province, conducted from January to April 2020. Evidence from Nancun explains how local authorities interpret the edicts and mandates of the central government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper aims to study the vehicular emissions trends in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, located in northern China. The multiyear emission inventories of NO X , CO, VOC and PM10 from road vehicles in the period 1999–2010 were developed by the COPERT IV model. Results show that vehicular emissions of CO and VOC have decreased by annual average change rates (AACR) of −3.1% to −5.2% and −4.4% to −6.9% in the study area, respectively. However, due to the rapid development of freight traffic, emissions of NO X and PM10 have kept increasing in Tianjin and Hebei. Based on the vehicular emission inventories, trends of emission levels for vehicles with different standards, as well as the overall effects of implementing vehicular emission mitigation strategies were assessed. It is suggested that passenger cars (PC) with Euro 0 and Euro I standards, which were at higher emission level in the PC fleet, should be gradually eliminated. Although the increasing rates (IR) of emissions from PC were lower than those of the PC population, the sharp growth of PC population in recent years contributed to a remarkable increase of emissions, weakening the overall mitigation effect. Total vehicle population capacity and other mitigation measures should be studied in China in order to develop new and more effective vehicular emission control strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan in China since 2013 has profoundly altered the ambient pollutants in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region. Here we show observations of substantially increased O3 concentrations (about 30 %) and a remarkable increase in the ratio of organic carbon (OC) to elemental carbon (EC) in BTH during the autumn from 2013 to 2015, revealing an enhancement in atmospheric oxidizing capacity (AOC) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. To explore the impacts of increasing AOC on the SOA formation, a severe air pollution episode from 3 to 8 October 2015 with high O3 and PM 2.5 concentrations is simulated using the WRF-Chem model. The model performs reasonably well in simulating the spatial distributions of PM 2.5 and O3 concentrations over BTH and the temporal variations in PM 2.5 , O3 , NO2 , OC, and EC concentrations in Beijing compared to measurements. Sensitivity studies show that the change in AOC substantially influences the SOA formation in BTH. A sensitivity case characterized by a 31 % O3 decrease (or 36 % OH decrease) reduces the SOA level by about 30 % and the SOA fraction in total organic aerosol by 17 % (from 0.52 to 0.43, dimensionless). Spatially, the SOA decrease caused by reduced AOC is ubiquitous in BTH, but the spatial relationship between SOA concentrations and the AOC is dependent on the SOA precursor distribution. Studies on SOA formation pathways further show that when the AOC is reduced, the SOA from oxidation and partitioning of semivolatile primary organic aerosol (POA) and co-emitted intermediate volatile organic compounds (IVOCs) decreases remarkably, followed by those from anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Meanwhile, the SOA decrease in the irreversible uptake of glyoxal and methylglyoxal on the aerosol surfaces is negligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the accuracy of the anthropogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emission inventory is essential for reducing air pollution. In this study, we established an emission inventory of anthropogenic VOCs in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region of China for 2015 based on the emission factor (EF) method. Online ambient VOC observations were conducted in one urban area of Beijing in January, April, July, and October, which, respectively, represented winter, spring, summer, and autumn in 2015. Furthermore, the developed emission inventory was evaluated by a comprehensive verification system based on the measurements and satellite retrieval results. Firstly, emissions of the individual species of the emission inventory were evaluated according to the ambient measurements and emission ratios versus carbon monoxide (CO). Secondly, the source structure of the emission inventory was evaluated using source appointment with the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Thirdly, the spatial and temporal distribution of the developed emission inventory was evaluated by a satellite-derived emission inventory. According to the results of the emission inventory, the total anthropogenic VOC emissions in the BTH region were 3277.66 Gg in 2015. Online measurements showed that the average mixing ratio of VOCs in Beijing was approximately 49.94 ppbv in 2015, ranging from 10.67 to 245.54 ppbv. The annual emissions for 51 of 56 kinds of non-methane hydrocarbon species derived from the measurements agreed within ±100 % with the results of the emission inventory. Based on the PMF results and the emission inventory, it is evident that vehicle-related emissions dominate the composition of anthropogenic VOCs in Beijing. The spatial correlation between the emission inventory and satellite inversion result was significant (p<0.01) with a correlation coefficient of 0.75. However, there were discrepancies between the relative contributions of fuel combustion, emissions of oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), and halocarbons from the measurements and inventory. To obtain a more accurate emission inventory, we propose the investigation of the household coal consumption, the adjustment of EFs based on the latest pollution control policies, and the verification of the source profiles of OVOCs and halocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region experienced the most rainfall in 1994 and the least rainfall in 1997 during the last 20 years. Utilizing the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM), we investigate the possible effects of urbanization on summer precipitation under different climate backgrounds using the two extreme years. By comparing the results of control and sensitivity runs, we find totally different effects in the 2 years. In 1994, the rainfall and rainfall frequency decrease in most areas due to urbanization, and decreases in the rainfall intensity occur in urban areas of Beijing, Tangshan, and Shijiazhuang. In 1997, the rainfall, rainfall frequency, and intensity are reduced in southwest of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, while the change is opposite in northeast. Urbanization alters the diurnal distribution of rainfall, the energy budget, and the water vapor content in the atmosphere. Due to the decrease in city evaporation and transpiration, the surface latent heat flux is reduced. The water vapor mixing ratio in urban area decreases apparently from surface to 850 hPa, while it increases from 850 to 600 hPa. Overall, the reduction of water vapor mixing ratio in 1994 is more than that in 1997, which implies that the “dry island effect” caused by urbanization is stronger in the wet year than that in the dry year. Results also show that the inhibition (enhancement) of deep convection may explain the modification of precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]