In early October, Gothenburg University and IVL Swedish Environment Institute organized a seminar on air pollution and photochemical smog in China. The seminar is part of a research project where Swedish and Chinese researchers work together to increase the understanding of emissions and atmospheric chemical processes that lead to the formation of particles and other air pollutants.
The research project Photochemical Smog in China is funded by the Swedish Research Council and focuses on how to counteract the smog in the metropolitan regions of China. The air in two areas has been investigated - Beijing and Hong Kong. The regions belong to different climate zones and have different types of photochemical smog. The research has mainly focused on so-called secondary air pollutants that can be formed from both natural and anthropogenic sources in interaction with other air pollutants. These air pollutants can constitute a significant part of the particulate concentration in urban air in China. The researchers have looked at the mechanisms behind the formation and investigated the interaction with other air pollutants to identify sources and, in the long term, also develop strategies for abatement measures.
At the seminar held at the Swedish Embassy in Beijing, researchers from Gothenburg University, Chalmers University of technology and IVL participated, as well as from Pekig University, Tsinghua University, three universities in Hong Kong, the Chinese research institute CRAES and representatives from environmental protection authorities.
During the day we discussed how the results of the project can be used to develop action strategies and continued cooperation between the countries.
- China's work on air pollution is progressing very fast, air in Beijing and many other cities have improved significantly in recent years, although much work remains. Sweden and China have different starting points and different decision paths for action, but despite this, there are many research questions where we see that we have much to gain from continued collaboration and where we can help find solutions to different problems faster, says IVL's head of research John Munthe as a contributor to the seminar.
Scientifically, the project has been successful and work is now underway to formulate policy-relevant results and develop concrete advice for measures. The project has also included research exchanges between China and Sweden. Several collaborations between leading researchers in both countries have been established.
IVL researchers Åsa Hallquist and Jana Moldanova find it inspiring to work with researchers from some of China's best universities.
- In recent years, China has invested a great deal of research into understanding causal relationships for air pollution as part of their ambition to reduce both emissions and the effects of air pollution. It has been a successful exchange, from our part we have contributed experience and knowledge from many years of research on air pollution in Sweden and the EU, says Åsa Hallquist.
For more information contact:
John Munthe, john.munthe@ivl.se, tel. 010-788 68 06
Photochemical Smog in China is led by the University of Gothenburg and is funded by the Swedish Research Council. It focuses on basic research on conversion, air pollution distribution, primarily secondary organic aerosols that can be formed from both natural and anthropogenic sources in interaction with other air pollutants. The University of Gothenburg, IVL, Chalmers and Peking University and two universities in Honkong have participated. Read more about the project: https://photosmog.gu.se/english
