Methods and Models to Improve the Use of Integrated Assessments in Environmental Decision Making: A Case Study Using Air Pollution in Mexico City

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed research will develop tools and methodologies that can be broadly applied for conducting integrated assessments of complex environmental issues in the United States and in other countries around the world, with specific application to Mexico City. The proposal focuses on four critical issues: (i) development of integrated assessment methodologies and tools aimed at using the best available data and existing common and accepted models in order to produce policy-relevant results; (ii) development of methods to couple urban, regional, and global air pollution models, particularly for aerosols; (iii) development of methodologies to link emissions estimates and policy impacts in urban, regional and global contexts for energy, transportation, and industrial sectors; and (iv) development of impact analysis methodologies for tailoring health effects damage functions based on composite US data to local conditions and demographics for use in policy analysis.