Health and economic benefits of clean air policies in China: A case study for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Abstract

Exposure to PM_2.5 is associated with many adverse health effects, leading to additional social costs. The Blue Sky Protection Campaign (BSPC) has been implemented in 2018 in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) area to control air pollution. This study assesses PM_2.5-related health and economic benefits of the BSPC in the BTH region. Results show that by 2020, PM_2.5 reduction can avoid 3561 thousand morbidity cases (equivalent to a 24% reduction in the 2020 baseline scenario) and 24 thousand premature deaths (12%) in the BTH region, with the majority benefit in Hebei. By 2030, the avoided morbidity and mortality cases will be 2943 (18%) thousand and 20 (9%) thousand, respectively. PM_2.5 reductions are highly effective in reducing work time loss, which will decrease the total annual work time by 1.7 × 10⁸ h (24%) in the BTH region by 2020. From the economic aspect, the reduced PM_2.5 concentration will save 30 million USD (25%) health expenditures and avoid 60 billion USD (13%) economic loss by using the value of statistical life (VSL) by 2020. In 2030, the health expenditures and economic loss will also decrease significantly, with 17 million USD (18%) and 63 billion USD (10%), respectively, in the BTH region. Besides, the economic benefits far exceed the policy costs of the BSPC, and the Δ benefit/Δ cost ratios of Beijing are significantly higher than those of Hebei. The BSPC in BTH has significant positive health and economic impacts. This study can provide a basis for future PM_2.5-related health risk studies at an urban level in China.