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Appropriately designed and implemented climate mitigation actions have multiple co-benefits (yet some trade-offs cannot be excluded) that result in substantial social and economic value beyond their direct impact on reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions. Despite their wider acknowledgement by the research community, decision makers and the public have incomplete information on these multiple effects. This paper has a twofold objective: First, through analytical bottom-up approaches, it assesses, in quantitative terms, the macroeconomic effects and the public health benefits attributed to a variety of mitigation actions under consideration in the context of the Greek Energy and Climate Plan. Second, it investigates, through a social survey, how citizens perceive climate change and value these multiple impacts of mitigation actions, and to what extent they are willing to pay for them and support the adoption of policy measures aiming at the green transition of the Greek economy. We show that mitigation actions bring about significant health benefits, particularly in cities, and generate significant positive macroeconomic effects, particularly if mitigation actions focus on the decarbonization of the building sector and on the exploitation of local renewable sources. We also argue that most people do not realize that climate mitigation actions can have wider benefits for society, such as tackling energy poverty, improving public health, and creating new jobs. Unwillingness to pay tends to be the prominent attitude. People who are more reluctant to cover a part of the cost of environmental protection are less likely to perceive that climate change is one of the main challenges at global and national level and support the adoption of climate mitigation policies. In this context, the national strategy for climate change should focus on effectively informing and engaging the public in climate mitigation strategies, strengthening the public trust in government institutions, promoting mutually acceptable solutions with the local communities, and providing incentives for changing citizens' behavior towards climate-related actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The desert climate region attracts a multitude of tourists due to its distinctive landforms and climatic conditions, however, it also presents challenges for environmental protection. This article constructs a theoretical model that examines the influence of thermal stress on tourists' environmental responsibility behavior intention (ERBI), with anticipated pride and anticipated guilt serving as mediating factors. An empirical study is conducted in Turpan, Xinjiang, which represents a typical inland arid area in China. The results indicate that: (1) thermal stress does not have a significant direct impact on ERBI, nevertheless, anticipated pride and anticipated guilt play crucial mediating roles between thermal stress and this intention. (2) Furthermore, environmental knowledge positively moderates the relationship between anticipated pride, anticipated guilt, and the ERBI. This research contributes to the understanding of how tourists' anticipatory emotions affect their ERBI in desert climate regions while deepening our comprehension of the driving mechanisms behind such intentions among tourists. Moreover, it provides theoretical references for promoting environmentally responsible behaviors among tourists visiting desert climate regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation remains a pressing global concern, prompting many nations to adopt measures to mitigate carbon emissions. In response to international pressure, China has committed to achieving a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Despite extensive research on China's overall carbon emissions, there has been limited focus on individual provinces, particularly less developed provinces. Jiangxi Province, an underdeveloped province in southeastern China, recorded the highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate in the country in 2022, and it holds significant potential for carbon emission reduction. This study uses data from Jiangxi Province's 14th Five-Year Plan and Vision 2035 to create three carbon emission reduction scenarios and predict emissions. The extended STIRPAT (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology), along with various visualisation techniques, is employed to analyse the impacts of population size, primary electricity application level, GDP per capita, the share of the secondary industry in fixed-asset investment, and the number of civilian automobiles owned on carbon emissions. The study found that there is an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between GDP per capita and carbon emissions, car ownership is not a major driver of carbon emissions, and the development of primary electricity has significant potential as a means for reducing carbon emissions in Jiangxi Province. If strict environmental protection measures are implemented, Jiangxi Province can reach its peak carbon target by 2029, one year ahead of the national target. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers in Jiangxi Province to ensure that their environmental objectives are met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-temporal resolution and timely emission estimates are essential for developing refined air quality management policies. Considering the advantages of extensive coverage, high reliability, and near real-time capabilities, in this work, electric power big data (EPBD) was first employed to obtain accurate hourly resolved facility-level air pollutant emissions information from the cement industries in Tangshan City, China. Then, the simulation optimization was elucidated by coupling the data with the weather research and forecasting (WRF)-community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model. Simulation results based on estimated emissions effectively captured the hourly variation, with the NMB within ±50% for NO2 and PM2.5 and R greater than 0.6 for SO2. Hourly PM2.5 emissions from clinker production enterprises exhibited a relatively smooth pattern, whereas those from separate cement grinding stations displayed a distinct diurnal variation. Despite the remaining underestimation and/or overestimation of the simulation concentration, the emission inventory based on EPBD demonstrates an enhancement in simulation results, with RMSE, NMB, and NME decreasing by 9.6%, 15.8%, and 11.2%, respectively. Thus, the exploitation of the vast application potential of EPBD in the field of environmental protection could help to support the precise prevention and control of air pollution, with the possibility of the early achievement of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets in China and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2017, there has been a considerable increase in the recorded sea salt aerosol (SSA) levels across the United States, particularly the economically critical Baltimore–Washington Corridor (BWC). This unexpected escalation, as reported in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) annual air quality report, has generated worries about the potential effects on air quality, public health, and regional climate dynamics. However, this technical note demonstrates that the apparent rise in SSA levels is mostly due to a change in the EPA's Chemical Speciation Network's (CSN) approach to measuring these aerosols. In 2017, the CSN switched from utilizing chlorine to chloride as a tracer for SSAs. Speciation data for this region show that chloride concentrations are often an order of magnitude greater than chlorine concentrations, explaining the significant increase in SSA levels following the methodological modification. The absence of a similar spike in SSA levels at the nearby IMPROVE site, which has been consistent with its methodology, provides more evidence to corroborate this conclusion. These findings demonstrate the importance of methodological consistency and openness in environmental monitoring networks. Clear documentation of such changes is critical to avoiding data misunderstanding, which might lead to the development of incorrect public health and environmental policies. We advocate for continued collaboration among researchers to establish standardized measuring procedures and data analysis tools to accommodate and clarify methodological changes, resulting in accurate environmental evaluations and informed decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the interdecadal change in the covariability between the Tibetan Plateau (TP) east–west dipole precipitation and Indian precipitation during summer and primarily explores the modulation of atmospheric circulation anomalies on the covariability. The results reveal that the western TP precipitation (WTPP), eastern TP precipitation (ETPP), and northwestern Indian precipitation (NWIP) have covariability, with an in-phase variation between the WTPP and NWIP and an out-of-phase variation between the WTPP and ETPP. Moreover, this covariability was unclear during 1981–2004 and became significant during 2005–2019, showing a clear interdecadal change. During 2005–2019, a thick geopotential height anomaly, which tilted slightly northward, governed the TP, forming upper- and lower-level coupled circulation anomalies (i.e., anomalous upper-level westerlies over the TP and lower-level southeasterlies and northeasterlies around the southern flank of the TP). As such, the upper- and lower-tropospheric circulation anomalies synergistically modulate the summer WTPP, ETPP, and NWIP, causing the covariability of summer precipitation over the TP and India during 2005–2019. The upper- or lower-level circulation anomalies cannot independently result in significant precipitation covariability. During 1981–2004, the upper- and lower-level circulation anomalies were not strongly coupled, which caused precipitation non-covariability. The sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the western North Pacific (WNP) and tropical Atlantic (TA) may synergistically modulate the upper- and lower-level coupled circulation anomalies, contributing to the covariability of the WTPP, ETPP, and NWIP during 2005–2019. The modulation of the WNP and TA SSTs on the coupled circulation anomalies was weaker during 1981–2004, which was therefore not conducive to this precipitation covariability. This study may provide valuable insights into the characteristics and mechanisms of spatiotemporal variation in summer precipitation over the TP and its adjacent regions, thus offering scientific support for local water resource management, ecological environment protection, and social and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]