Clean Air China (CAC): Breaking Down the Dome: Sino-Swiss Cooperation on Air Pollution Source Apportionment for Better Air

Project completed

The project will support the development of advanced air pollution source apportionment techniques with a Swiss and Chinese joint expert team to enable the design of more effective air pollution control policies beneficial for public health, the global climate and the environment. The techniques and experience of science-based policy making will be piloted in Chinese cities and shared with other developing countries strongly affected by air pollution to accelerate progress towards cleaner air.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
China
Climate change and environment
Biosphere protection
Environmental policy
01.05.2018 - 31.12.2023
CHF  3’321’000
Background Air pollution is a major threat to public health in China and other developing countries and is closely related to climate change. Countries and cities around the world faced with severe air pollution are confronted with the challenge of devising effective policies to improve air quality. A better understanding of the sources and composition of air pollution is essential for designing effective policies. This can be done through air pollution source apportionment, a technique in which Switzerland plays a leading role. China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and the country most affected by air pollution. The Chinese government has made strong efforts to abate air pollution at both central and local levels in recent years, but much remains to be done to meet safe air pollution levels. With a Sino-Swiss research team, the project will develop novel methods to conduct more accurate and timely pollution source analysis in order to design more effective pollution control policies. These will be piloted in Chinese cities, shared with neighbouring countries and fed into the global policy discussion on air pollution.
Objectives Air pollution in key Chinese cities is significantly reduced, thereby improving people’s health and well-being, through more effective policies as a result of applying state-of-the-art pollutant source analysis techniques, and the Sino-Swiss experience is shared regionally and globally.
Target groups Air pollution monitoring centres and research institutes in Chinese Cities; Local and central government; Government and academia in neighbouring countries (India, Nepal, Mongolia, Pakistan); Global policy platforms and international organisations tackling air pollution (Climate and Clean Air Coalition, WHO, WMO, ICIMOD).
Medium-term outcomes
  • Source Appointment: The capacity of Chinese cities to do accurate air pollutant source apportionment is improved.
  • Emission Inventory:  Chinese cities better understand their air pollution profile through dynamically updated and reliable air pollutant emission inventories.
  • Policy Influence: More effective air pollution control policies are designed and implemented based on the source apportionment results and the updated emission inventories.
  • Regional and Global Outreach: The knowledge and experience developed by the project are effectively disseminated and used in China, regionally and globally to improve the global response to the air pollution crisis.
Results

Expected results:   High-quality data of air pollutants is generated using the new combination of instruments in the six pilot cities. Accurate air pollutant source apportionment results are available for the six pilot cities. Methodologies for timely source apportionment are developed for each city individually and for the 6 pilot cities in a combined model. Policy recommendations are delivered to local and national government. The Swiss experience of science-based policy making is shared with the Chinese government. The project results and experience are shared with neighbouring countries and with relevant global platforms and organisations.


Results from previous phases:   Despite significant improvements in the last five years, still no Chinese city has reached the World Health Organisation’s recommended annual average PM2.5 level of 10µg/m³.  By the end of 2017, only 107 of China’s 338 cities of prefectural or higher level reached the WHO’s interim standard of 35µg/m³. 28 Chinese cities, including the six pilot cities considered in the project (Beijing, Chongqing, Xi’An, Wuhan, Shijiazhuang, Langfang), have conducted source apportionment analysis. However, those were one-time static apportionment, not real time. Currently, none of the cities has the experience or the capacity to use the combination of the most advanced instruments and the model developed by PSI.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Credit area Development cooperation
Project partners Contract partner
Foreign academic and research organisation
Swiss Academic and Research Institution
  • PaulScherrerInstitut
  • Research Organisation of South East


Coordination with other projects and actors Chinese air pollution control policy research funded by Premier Minister Fund; Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment; NGOs active on air pollution in China and the region (e.g. Clean Air Asia).
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    3’321’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    3’114’668 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF   3’219’999 Budget inclusive project partner CHF   8’870’000
Project phases

Phase 1 01.05.2018 - 31.12.2023   (Completed)