| Abstract Title: | MODELLING HG EMISSIONS AND ABATEMENT SCENARIOS WITH THE MULTI-POLLUTANT GAINS MODEL |
| Presenter Name: | Peter Rafaj |
| Co-Presenters/Co-authors: | Ms Flora Brocza Prof Jiashuo Li Sili Zhou |
| Company/Organisation: | |
| Country: | Austria |
Abstract Information :
This workshop is aimed at researchers, policy makers and students who wish to explore different mercury control strategies on a regional or global scale. It will familiarize participants to the capabilities of the freely accessible GAINS model web interface which enables the exploration of different global Hg control strategy scenarios up to 2050. Participants will develop an understanding of the GAINS methodology, as well as the data requirements necessary to develop their own, regional or global Hg control scenarios. Throughout the workshop, the Chinese power sector will be used as a case study.
The greenhouse gas - air pollution Interactions and synergies (GAINS) model is an authoritative policy model that explores cost-effective multi-pollutant emission control strategies which aim at maximizing both local air quality and global greenhouse gas emissions. Originally developed to tackle the problem of SO2 emissions and acid rain, GAINS can currently compute emissions of 10 air pollutants and 6 greenhouse gases for each country. Based on international energy and industry statistics as well as emission inventories and data supplied from individual countries, it is used to project emissions in five-year intervals until 2050. Over 2000 specific emission control measures and their costs are included in GAINS, enabling the calculation of potential emission reductions and abatement costs for the pollutants. Hg-GAINS, as developed by Rafaj et al. is one of few models which currently represents all anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emission sources on a sector-by-sector basis. While originally, only co-benefits to Hg emission reductions from particulate matter (PM) and SO2 control were considered in Hg-GAINS, a recent update which we are presenting here for the first time, now also includes novel Hg-specific control technologies.
The first hour of the workshop will be an overview of the capabilities and structure of the GAINS model and its applicability to model mercury scenarios. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the types of problems tackled with GAINS, and the importance of multi-sectoral, multi-pollutant abatement approaches for supporting policy makers. In addition, national experts will discuss bottom-up modelling of Chinese mercury emissions from the power sector.
From the second hour on, the workshop will be focused on the structure of the mercury module Hg-GAINS. Both Hg co-benefits from PM and SO2 abatement and newly included Hg control options are introduced. Mercury control in the Chinese power sector will serve as an in-depth case study throughout this session. In the final hour of the workshop will be a live demonstration of creating mercury control strategies for China. To illustrate, two Hg control strategies will be presented to the participants: a “Current Legislation” (CLE) scenario, as well as a “Maximum Feasible Hg Reduction” (MFR) scenario relying on application of the strictest available Hg controls in all sectors. As well as Hg-specific measures, two different projections of future energy use will be applied to each Hg control strategy, demonstrating the impact of stringent climate policy in line with the Paris Agreement on limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees globally.
