Modeling air pollution regulation

Environmental Policy The government of China has set ambitious goals to reduce air pollution in the infamously smoggy metropolitan areas of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, known collectively as Jing-Jin-Ji. However, pollution initiatives may simply shift the responsible industries, such as coal power plants, to neighboring parts of China. Fang et al. modeled the effects of these regulatory measures. Although the Jing-Jin-Ji region may see reductions in primary air pollution, the current approach may cause higher emissions across northern China and threaten already scarce natural resources like fresh water. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aav4707 (2019).