Present and future emission characteristics of air pollutants and CO2 from the Beijing transport sector and their synergistic emission reduction benefits

Coordinated control of both carbon dioxide (CO₂) and air pollutants from the urban transport sector will deliver the greatest benefit to climate and health. To calculate and assess the synergistic control effect on CO₂ and air pollutants from various transport types in Beijing from 2021 to 2050, we built a quantitative analysis model based on the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning framework. Results showed that passenger transport was the dominant contributor to CO₂ and major air pollutants (fine particles, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds) emitted from the transport sector in 2021 in Beijing. An exception is for nitric oxide which was mostly from freight transport. Clean energy alternatives for road vehicles and aviation, and electrification of railways offer the best synergistic emission reduction potential for both CO₂ and air pollutants, and are also the most important measure to realize carbon neutrality in transportation. A change in transport mode (e.g. from road to rail) and the early elimination of aging vehicles would lead to a greater synergistic effect than that achieved by improving fuel economy in the short-term, except for co-benefits for fine particles and CO₂ for which the fine particle emission reduction was much lower than that of CO₂. In general, the adoption of clean energy for motor vehicles and aviation (e.g., electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and bio-fuels), is the best way for Beijing to quickly pass the carbon peak and achieve neutrality in the transport sector and improve air quality in the future.