18 / 2021-06-05 21:12:08

Associations between fuel prices and air pollution in Vietnam

PM2.5,Fuel price,Air Pollution；

Background: Controlling and reducing PM_2.5 level is essential but there has been few studies focusing on assessing effective policies reducing air pollution through fuel prices. This study aims to investigate whether the higher fuel price was associated with the lower PM_2.5 concentration in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Methods: Daily data of PM_2.5 in the two largest cities in Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) and prices of different fuels were collected for 2 years (2016-2017). A linear regression model was performed to evaluate the association of PM_2.5 and fuel prices including the lag effect up to ten days. The long-term and seasonal effects on PM_2.5 were controlled using a natural cubic spline function of time with three degrees of freedom per year.

Results: For every A$0.055 (2021 price) increase in price of diesel oil and kerosene leads to a decrease of 6.8% (95% CI: -13.1, -0.6) and 8.2% (95% CI: -15.4, -0.9) PM_2.5 concentrations in Ho Chi Minh City. Meanwhile, for every A$0.055 increase in price of diesel oil, mazut 3.5S, mazut 3.0S and kerosene led to a decrease of 13.4% (95% CI: -22.3, -4.5), 26% (95% CI -40.0, -11.8), 27.4% (95% CI: -42.2, -12.3) and 15.3% (95% CI: -25.6, -4.8), respectively in PM_2.5 concentrations at Hanoi.

Conclusion:PM_2.5 was statistically negatively associated with the prices of diesel and kerosene in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. While PM_2.5 in Ho Chi Minh City was not statistically associated with mazut 3.5S, mazut 3.0S, PM_2.5 in Hanoi was statistically negatively associated with both mazut 3.5S and mazut 3.0S. These findings provided evidence that fuel price could have significant impact on the level of PM_2.5 in the large cities of Vietnam. Our study offers valuable perspectives for policymakers establish environmental policies in fossil fuel energy consumption.