Abstract
The European Commission has adopted a strategy to combat acidification; this program will reduce significantly the extent of the areas in the European Union where the tolerance of sensitive ecosystems to acidity is exceeded. Benefits due to reduced adverse effects on human health, crop production, and building materials resulting from the implementation of emission reduction strategies are assessed and compared against the emission control costs required to implement these strategies. Results indicate that in spite of considerable uncertainties (for example, in valuation of mortality related to air pollution), the avoided environmental damage costs by far exceed the control costs. The analysis of the spatial distribution of burdens and benefits shows, however, that benefits are not evenly distributed throughout Europe.
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Krewitt, W., Holland, M., Trukenmüller, A. et al. Comparing costs and environmental benefits of strategies to combat acidification and ozone in Europe. Environ Econ Policy Stud 2, 249–266 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03353914
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03353914