Project Details
Projekt
Climate policy co-benefits, air pollution, and population health
Subject Area
Economic Policy, Applied Economics
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 529299662
This research project aims to investigate the impact of coal-related transboundary air pollution on population health in Germany. The study will answer three research questions: (1) To what extent has the operation of coal power plants in Germany, Poland, and Czechia affected air pollution in regions of Germany over 25 years? (2) How does wind direction affect air pollution levels in different geographic areas of Germany, and do counties in East Germany experience a disproportionate increase in air pollution levels due to east winds carrying coal-induced pollution from neighboring countries? (3) How do these two distinct variations in air pollution affect population health, measured through hospitalization and mortality rates due to pollutionsensitive causes, and do regional air quality disparities translate into regional health disparities? We will combine data from multiple sources, including hospital admission and mortality statistics from the German Research Data Center, data on air pollution from the German Environment Agency, operations of coal power plants from Europe Beyond Coal database, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, German Federal Network Operator, weather data from the German Weather Service, and supplementary variables from the Federal Statistical Office.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
