Air pollution and climate change are two of the biggest environmental threats impacting human health, food security, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
SEI York’s air pollution, climate and environmental change group works to quantify the impacts of these threats, and to identify solutions that have multiple benefits.
There is a particular focus on national planning and decision making, emission mitigation assessments, health and other impact assessments and the impacts of management and climate change on forest, agriculture and peatland soils.
Exposure to air pollution outdoors and indoors is the largest environmental risk factors for human health, contributing over 5 million deaths per year.
Climate change affects food security, human health and ecosystems, disproportionately impacting the most disadvantaged in society. Air quality and climate change are closely linked, because of common sources of air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, there is a large opportunity to design strategies which simultaneously mitigate climate change and contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement, while at the same time result in local benefits for air pollution and human health.
Photo: JuniperPhoton / Unsplash
SEI York supports national planners, city officials and private sector companies to assess these impacts at local, regional and national level in over 30 countries.
Researchers focus on capacity building of national institutions in partner countries, development and application of appropriate emission mitigation assessment tools to support decision making and increased action to reduce both air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Our researchers also focus on using direct measurements with modelling tools to unravel the underpinning mechanisms and ecosystem responses of management and climate change to peatland soils.
Perspective / Collective action is needed to improve air quality in Latin American and the Caribbean. This perspective highlights trends and priorities for the region.
Perspective / Improving indoor air quality remains a global issue that requires collective action.
Perspective / The authors of this perspective ague that integrating national planning for climate mitigation and development aims can lead to traction on both agendas.
Media coverage / Chris Malley discusses the benefits of Zimbabwe's climate change mitigation efforts in The Conversation UK.
Journal article / Researchers found that African aerosol emissions reductions could positively impact rainfall changes in the region.
Past event / SEI was at the 3rd International Forum on Transboundary Air Pollution on data science for air policies in Northeast Asia on UN Clean Air Day, 2023.
Project / This project investigates air pollutants inside homes in the city of Bradford, UK: their sources, interactions and health effects on those living there.
Project / On behalf of CCAC, UNEP is cooperating with SEI to support the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Kenya under SNAP.
Project / A scientifically robust and policy-relevant framework to identify and assess priority measures that maximize the multiple-benefits for air quality and climate.
Project / A citizen science project monitoring indoor air, created with and for UK schools.
Project / Accelerating low carbon transport policies and plans that meet the mobility needs of marginalized groups in Indonesia.
Project / Improving understanding about early life origins, burden, determinants, and prognostic significance of non-communicable lung disease in Kenya.