Grantee Research Project Results
Environmental Justice Implications of Public Transit Electrification and Changing Generation Portfolios in Arizona
EPA Grant Number: R840559Title: Environmental Justice Implications of Public Transit Electrification and Changing Generation Portfolios in Arizona
Investigators: Hernandez-Cortes, Danae , Sheriff, Glenn , Parker, Nathan
Institution: Arizona State University - Tempe
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: October 1, 2023 through April 23, 2025
Project Amount: $649,998
RFA: Drivers and Environmental Impacts of Energy Transitions in Underserved Communities. (2022) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Environmental Justice , Early Career Awards , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Air
Objective:
The International Panel on Climate Change emphasizes the crucial role for GHG mitigation from non-state actors such as municipalities. The transportation sector plays an important part in these plans. Electrification of public transportation can potentially reduce both GHG and conventional pollutants. With fossil fuel-fired electricity generation, reductions in tailpipe emissions are offset by increases in generation co-pollutants, raising environmental justice (EJ) concerns by potentially widening current exposure disparities for underserved communities. In this project, we develop a framework for evaluating changes in neighborhood air pollution distributions arising from alternative future scenarios for public transportation and electricity generation. Methods will enable policymakers to determine magnitudes of baseline and future disparities in co-pollutant exposure to incorporate EJ in the GHG mitigation planning process. The project will work closely with local transportation, air quality authorities, and community organizations to ensure both quality of data inputs as well as usefulness of outputs for stakeholder objectives.
Approach:
Using Maricopa County as a case study, we use atmospheric pollution dispersion modeling to estimate public transportation and electricity generation impacts on air pollution concentrations at the Census Block Group level, disaggregating exposure by race, ethnicity, and poverty status. We simulate future scenarios of route electrification and generation expansion to understand how these affect spatial distributions of pollutants across these groups. Finally, we will compare current pollution gaps between underserved communities and other communities to the gaps under future scenarios consistent with the city’s energy transition plans. An online visualization tool will map current pollution gaps and the simulated gaps under alternative energy transition scenarios.
Expected Results:
The results of this proposal will address the environmental justice consequences of future energy transition policies by quantifying the pollution gap between underserved communities and other communities and analyzing how different electrification and transportation plans can impact existing disparities. Along with our community partners and relevant stakeholders, this research will help cities identify which planned electrification and transportation policies can reduce environmental disparities in underserved communities. By providing an online visualization tool, our research will produce knowledge that our community partners and the city’s stakeholders can incorporate in their future energy transition decisions.
Supplemental Keywords:
electrification; transportation; environmental justice; air; sensitive populations; race; ethnic groups; particulates; socioeconomic; social science; modeling; analytical; southwestProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.