• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.480-496
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• 2017

CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality)-HDDM (High-order Direct Decoupled Method) simulations with MICS-Asia 2010 and INTEX-B 2006 emissions inventories were performed to investigate the impact of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions on 1-hr ozone concentrations over South Korea during May to July in 2014. Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions in MICS-Asia 2010 were 60% higher and 100% lower than those in INTEX-B 2006 during the simulation period. It makes the ratio of Chinese VOC to $NO_x$ emissions in INTEX-B 2006 (Case 1) is 3.2 times higher than that in MICS-Asia 2010 (Case 2). When the observed period mean 1-hr ozone concentration averaged across 106 air monitoring sites in the SMA (Seoul Metropolitan Area) was 37.6 ppb, the modeled values were similar to each other; 37.3 ppb for Case 1, and 40.4 ppb for Case 2. Both cases show that daily maximum 1-hr ZOC (Zero-Out Contribution) of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions were as high as 55 ppb and 35 ppb for the episode respectively. Correlation coefficients between ZOC of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions and the SMA daily maximum 1-hr ozone were 0.49~0.69. It indicates that Chinese emissions occasionally affect the SMA daily ozone peaks. On the other hand, Case 2 predicted 7 ppb and 1 ppb higher ZOC of Chinese $NO_x$ and VOC emissions than Case 1, when simulated ozone in the SMA is over 80 ppb. It implies that upwind $NO_x$ emissions would be more important than upwind VOC emissions for the long-range transport of ozone in Northeast Asia.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.637-652
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• 2022

In this study, the contributions of emissions (foreign and domestic) and atmospheric physical and chemical processes to PM_2.5 concentrations were evaluated during a high PM_2.5 episode (March 24-26, 2018) observed on the Jeju Island in the spring of 2018. These analyses were performed using the community multi-scale air quality (CMAQ) modeling system using the brute-force method and integrated process rate (IPR) analysis, respectively. The contributions of domestic emissions from South Korea (41-45%) to PM_2.5 on the Jeju Island were lower than those (81-89%) of long-range transport (LRT) from China. The substantial contribution of LRT was also confirmed in conjunction with the air mass trajectory analysis, indicating that the frequency of airflow from China (58-62% of all trajectories) was higher than from other regions (28-32%) (e.g., South Korea). These results imply that compared to domestic emissions, emissions from China have a stronger impact than domestic emissions on the high PM_2.5 concentrations in the study area. From the IPR analysis, horizontal transport contributed substantially to PM_2.5 concentrations were dominant in most of the areas of the Jeju Island during the high PM_2.5 episode, while the aerosol process and vertical transport in the southern areas largely contributed to higher PM_2.5 concentrations.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 2018

Fast economic growth and urbanization of China have been causing air pollution not only over its domestic but transboundary atmosphere. Recent high fine particle pollution episodes in China made the government move toward more stringent air pollution control policies - which are mostly fuel switching and emissions control. In this research, we tried to understand characteristics of Chinese emissions and their change by analyzing its emissions inventory by year, sector, and region. From the inter-comparison of existing bottom-up emission inventories, we found relatively good agreements (<20% difference) for $SO_2$ and $NO_x$, but 30% or more discrepancies for some pollutants. Inter-comparison with top-down $NO_x$ emissions estimates also showed 20~50% differences by year. The regional distribution and inter-annual changes of emissions revealed different stages of energy/fuel mix and policy penetration. Early increase of pollutants emissions in the eastern part of China might give strong influences to the Korean peninsular in early 2000s but, more stringent control in that region would help improving air pollution in Korea in near future.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2015

The trajectory analysis of boundary layer ozone data at four regional sites in the East Asian outflow regions in Japan was carried out together with boundary layer ozone data observed at Mt. Tai and Mt. Huang in the source region of central eastern China during the monsoon onset in May-June 2003 and 2004. At all sites, the influences of anthropogenic emissions from East Asia have been found. During May and June 2004, the evidences of direct pollution transport from central eastern China to Hedo, an outflow site in Okinawa Island were observed. Ozone mixing ratios associated with air masses from central eastern China averaged 45 ppb while those associated with clean air masses from the Pacific were only 14 ppb, which resulted in averaged 31 ppb increase of ozone mixing ratios during the pollution episodes from central eastern China at Cape Hedo. Using transport time analysis and averaging all ozone episodes transported from central eastern China, the ozone dilution rate of 5.4 ppb per day was roughly estimated during air masses transported from source to outflow regions at Hedo. In the regions nearby Japanese mainland, however ozone increases by long-range transports were more related to both domestic and East Asian sources as a whole.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.179-207
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• 2023

Carbon neutrality, the international community's practical challenge in response to climate change, is becoming a key industrial strategy for the future development of nations. Despite concerns that China, as an economic powerhouse in the G2, may face challenges leading global climate change efforts due to its high-carbon-emitting industrial structure, it is leveraging carbon neutrality to enhance its industrial competitiveness. The Chinese government has formulated national policies for achieving carbon neutrality and detailed sector-specific plans to implement them. In particular, it aims to leverage carbon neutrality industrial strategies as a lever for adjusting the domestic industrial structure and fostering new industries, at the same time responding to international climate norms and external pressures. However, the effectiveness of carbon-neutral industrial strategies is expected to vary based on regional conditions such as economic and industrial levels. This article analyzes the regional conditions for implementing carbon neutrality in China, as well as the contents and characteristics of major industrial policies. Due to differing levels of economic development and industrial structures, significant variations in carbon emissions, size, emission sources, and efficiency are inevitable across regions. These disparities introduce diverse initial conditions and endogenous factors in pursuing carbon-neutral goals, limiting the direction and implementation of carbon-neutral industrial strategies favoring certain regions. In particular, the extent of policy autonomy granted to local governments regarding carbon neutrality implementation will influence the regional dynamics of central-local environmental governance. Consequently, it is crucial to emphasize regional monitoring alongside comprehensive national research to accurately navigate the path towards carbon neutrality in China. In summary, the article underscores the importance of understanding regional variations in economic development, industrial structure, and policy autonomy for successful carbon neutrality implementation in China. It highlights the need for regional monitoring and comprehensive national research to determine a more precise direction for achieving carbon neutrality.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.367-385
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• 2021

This study examined changes in the energy landscape, focusing on the photovoltaic module carbon certification system. As the global photovoltaic market has been reorganized around Chinese companies, the South Korean government has pushed to strengthen the competitiveness of the nation's photovoltaic industry. However, a limitation remains in that the government-led effort was not sufficient to bring about dynamic changes in the energy landscape. Against this backdrop, this study explored the stages leading to the multi-level perspectives of "macro-environment, socio-technical regime, and niche" to track the process of the government and domestic photovoltaic companies as part of a socio-technical regime responding to global market changes. In particular, this study raised an issue with the conceptual discussion of multi-level perspective, which placed a particular emphasis on the rate of change at each level and the niche in which innovative experiments take place, and thus attempted to fill this gap by tracking the energy landscape that varies differently from space. These spatial discussions can track different carbon emissions coefficients and industrial characteristics for each country, and have a higher level of explanatory power for the system thus constructed. In addition, through discussions on the problems and implications of the government-led introduction of renewable energy policies, this study suggests the need to create and implement a field-oriented system.