Chemistry and the Linkages between Air Quality and Climate Change

Climate change and air pollution are critical environmental issues both in the here and now and for the coming decades. Many mitigation options offer the possibility to both improve air quality and mitigate climate change, such as improvements in energy efficiency, or a switch to wind or solar power, all of which reduce emissions across the board. The atmospheric chemistry of ozone is an important context to understand the linkages between air quality and climate change, because many indirect effects are linked to this chemistry. As an air pollutant, ozone has a variety of adverse effects on human health, including decreased pulmonary function, aggravation of pre-existing diseases such as asthma, increases in hospital admissions, especially respiratory ailments, and premature mortality.