Mitigation potential of global ammonia emissions and related health impacts in the trade network.

ABSTRACT: Ammonia (NH₃) emissions, mainly from agricultural sources, generate substantial health damage due to the adverse effects on air quality. NH₃ emission reduction strategies are still far from being effective. In particular, a growing trade network in this era of globalization offers untapped emission mitigation potential that has been overlooked. Here we show that about one-fourth of global agricultural NH₃ emissions in 2012 are trade-related. Globally they induce 61 thousand PM_2.5-related premature mortalities, with 25 thousand deaths associated with crop cultivation and 36 thousand deaths with livestock production. The trade-related health damage network is regionally integrated and can be characterized by three trading communities. Thus, effective cooperation within trade-dependent communities will achieve considerable NH₃ emission reductions allowed by technological advancements and trade structure adjustments. Identification of regional communities from network analysis offers a new perspective on addressing NH₃ emissions and is also applicable to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.

SUBMITTER: Ma R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8571346 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature