Co-benefits of the reduction of atmospheric pollution from the transport of passengers in São Paulo: an integrated economic evaluation of health impacts using different vehicle emission scenarios

Abstract

There is growing recognition that strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will also affect many public health factors. Of all the co-benefits resulting from GHG mitigation, the reduction of air pollution is of particular interest because it is related to the increase of mortality rates due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Within this approach, transports represent an important source of air pollution in urban areas. In São Paulo, the target area for this study, traffic is the main source of particulate material.The economic quantification resulting from the improvement of health and consequent reduction of the costs of medical treatments is fundamental for the formulation of public policies. Based on interdisciplinary cooperation in the fields of air pollution (particle exposure), epidemiology (health impacts) and economics (determination of direct and indirect costs), this project aims the economical quantification of the health impacts (morbidity and mortality) caused by different vehicle emission scenarios for the transportation of passengers in the city of São Paulo, as well as the quantification, in the same scenarios, of the emission of greenhouse gases. To do so, it adopts PM2.5 as the reference pollutant and the main diseases associated with exposure to these particles. The different scenarios for vehicular emission will be obtained through modeling within a time scale between 2010 and 2050, adopting as variable parameters the behavioral changes in drivers and changes in the market share of each type of fuel. It is expected that the results will serve as a reference for the planning of public policies aiming the reduction of pollution due to transportation of passengers in São Paulo. (AU)