An Initial Framework for Description of Regional Pollution Emissions in the IIASA Integrated Energy System Research Program

Dennis, R.L. & Ito, K. (1975). An Initial Framework for Description of Regional Pollution Emissions in the IIASA Integrated Energy System Research Program. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-75-061

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Abstract

A brief overview of the environmental impact analysis for the Integrated Energy System Research Program is given in Foell (1). Three major pathways of environmental impact were identified and are shown in Figure 1. These are: (1) the impacts due to the emission of pollutants from the direct combustion of energy in the region, (2) the impacts due to the physical presence and use of the combustion machinery, e.g. cars and power plants, and (3) the impacts along the fuel chain (from extraction of raw material to the point of end use of the fuel). The content of this paper is concerned with the first pathway -- the impact of emissions within the region. Three levels of within-the-region impact analysis break out naturally, where each increasing level represents an increase in the complexity of the analysis of about an order of magnitude: (1) First Level: calculation of emissions; (2) Second Level: emissions with simple dispersion to obtain a dosage; (3) Third Level: dosage and health effects (dose-response) to obtain health impacts.

This paper describes two models both at the First Level, for calculating emissions of pollutants due to the use of energy, on an annual basis, over a given study period. Both models assume some measure of energy use is available as input. The first model, the Regional Emissions Model, is a universal approach, using the Japanese experience, for calculating the total emissions of pollutants for a given region. The second model, the Subregional Emissions Model, is the Wisconsin model for calculating air pollution emissions at the subregional level (Wisconsin is composed of 72 subregions: counties). Finally, a simple method is presented for displaying relative emission impact comparisons between different subregions. The main emphasis in this paper is on air pollution emissions, however the first model also includes water and solid waste emission pathways to give a broader overall sense to the system of impacts.

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