Efficiently supporting decision-making in a multi-pollutant environment

This paper addresses a multi-pollutant decision problem to identify effective strategies to improve air quality in densely inhabited and industrialized areas. The problem is formulated as a two-objective one: minimize an air quality indicator and the costs of emission-reduction policies. A comprehensive air quality indicator is defined to include both PM2.5 and NO₂ yearly average concentrations. Two different assumptions are used to determine the feasible reduction measures: the sole application of end-of-pipe measures or the combination of energy, fuel switching, and end-of-pipe measures. The case study is the Po Valley in Northern Italy, characterized by one of the worst air quality in Europe. Results show that implementing combined measures results in a 22 % decrease of PM2.5 and 46 % of NO₂ mean concentrations. The adopted policies concern energy measures in the transport sector and the application of end-of-pipe measures in domestic heating, agriculture, and paint applications.