title: GLIMPSE: a rapid decision framework for energy and environmental policy.
abstract: Over the coming decades, new energy production technologies and the policies that oversee them will affect human health, the vitality of our ecosystems, and the stability of the global climate. The GLIMPSE decision model framework provides insights about the implications of technology and policy decisions on these outcomes. Using GLIMPSE, decision makers can identify alternative techno-policy futures, examining their air quality, health, and short- and long-term climate impacts. Ultimately, GLIMPSE will support the identification of cost-effective strategies for simultaneously achieving performance goals for these metrics. Here, we demonstrate the utility of GLIMPSE by analyzing several future energy scenarios under existing air quality regulations and potential CO2 emission reduction policies. We find opportunities for substantial cobenefits in setting both climate change mitigation and health-benefit based air quality improvement targets. Though current policies which prioritize public health protection increase near-term warming, establishing policies that also reduce greenhouse gas emissions may offset warming in the near-term and lead to significant reductions in long-term warming.
authors.affiliation: National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States.
authors.forename: Farhan H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Pinder
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Loughlin
authors.forename: Daven K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Henze
mesh_terms: D000388:Air; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002980:Climate; D057231:Climate Change; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D017753:Ecosystem; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D058735:Environmental Policy; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011634:Public Health; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide