Air Pollutant Emissions and Impacts of Energy Systems

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Climate change is a global challenge linked to air quality and energy. In the past five years, unconventional oil and gas came to dominate production in Canada and the United States. The production and use of fossil fuels for energy is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and air pollutants that harm human health. Efforts to combat climate change by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels thus yield an added benefit by reducing air pollution-related risks like heart attacks, asthma attacks, lung cancer, and premature death. In Toronto, 30% of air pollution-related deaths are attributed to U.S. pollution sources. With both countries making commitments to curb carbon emissions to the United Nations, it is increasingly important for Canada to develop integrated modeling that captures the linkages of energy, climate change, and air quality to understand these complex relationships and to inform sustainable decisions.