Abstract View
Environmental Justice Analysis for Six Future Energy Scenarios in California
YITING LI, Michael Kleeman, University of California, Davis
Abstract Number: 279
Working Group: Translating Aerosol Research for Societal Impact: Science Communication and Public Outreach
Abstract
California has committed to an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by the year 2050. This massive reduction will require a transformation in the energy system that will also impact air quality. The optimal future energy portfolio will not only reduce climate change and improve air quality at minimum economic cost, but it should also seek to provide equal benefits for all socio-economic classes by achieving environmental justice (EJ) principles.
The study focused on six future energy scenarios in California, including: (1) a Business as Usual (BAU) scenario; (2) a climate-friendly strict GHG reduction scenario - GHGAi; (3) a loose GHG reduction scenario – 2030CAP; (4) a scenario that focus on the effect of carbon capture sequestration technology (CCS); (5) a scenario that focus on natural gas usage in residential and commercial buildings – NGB and (6) a scenario that focus on natural gas combustion for electricity generation – NGT. Future year 2050 air quality simulations of six scenarios were carried out for 32 randomly-selected weeks between 2046-2055 (to account for effects of medium-term meteorological cycles such as ENSO) by using UCD-CIT chemical transport model. Nine source types were also tracked in air quality simulations. (1) Population exposure to PM2.5, PM0.1 total mass, primary/secondary PM and (2) Source composition of six scenario were then estimated for different socio-economic classes under the six scenarios. The results from this study identify the future EJ analysis under six energy scenarios in California, and compare the benefits of six future energy scenarios across socio-economic classes.