Journal of Climatology & Weather Forecasting

Improving Air Quality and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Two Worldwide Challenges

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A Letter to the Editor

EDITORIAL There are numerous compelling reasons to encourage sustainable development and reduce greenhouse gas and other combustion emissions. Asthma, cardiovascular illness, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and dementia are all linked to combustion emissions in many metropolitan contexts, resulting in many early deaths. Air pollution has a global social cost of at least $3 trillion each year; particles, nitrogen oxides, and ozone linked with combustion emissions are all very expensive pollutants. One of the reasons that countries are working together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is to improve air quality in urban areas. There are numerous possible advantages to mitigating climate change. The number of weather and climate disasters costing more than $1 billion has increased in recent years, as have the quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, the average global temperature reached new highs. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energybased electricity generation must occur in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement's targets. This paper examines recent research and commercial progress in the areas of transportation electrification and the transition to sustainable energy. The acceptance of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on December 12, 2015 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was one of the important achievements of the United Nations and its partner countries. The objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the point where their concentrations in the atmosphere do not rise is a huge worldwide problem. . To achieve this goal, transportation must be electrified, electricity must be generated without carbon emissions, agricultural operations must be electrified, buildings must be heated with solar energy and electricity, and carbon emissions from construction, mining, and industrial production must be reduced. One significant advantage of all of this is improved air quality due to lower emissions. Health and environmental aspects such as clean air and suitable outdoor temperatures are highly valued in society. The electrification of transportation, the move to renewable energy generation, the electrification of agriculture, and the research and development requirements to make this transition will all be discussed in this report. A major global problem is reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the point that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are stabilised. Electrifying vehicles and switching to renewable energy sources for electricity are two critical objectives that must be addressed. There has been significant progress in lowering the cost of renewable energy and in the creation of electric vehicles, such as cars and buses. Electric vehicles are now cost-competitive due to falling battery prices. More than 2 million electric vehicles are currently in use, while new solar power generation in the United States surged by 95% from 2015 to 14,625 Megawatts in 2016. Moving forward with programmes and attempts to minimise combustion emissions has social, environmental, and economic benefits. Vehicle emissions have severe and costly health consequences. Both the effects of air quality and climate change are important, yet they exist as economic externalities. To stimulate improvement, policy action is required. The Paris Climate Agreement is critical, and we should all work together to make it a success.