Drivers of PM2.5 air pollution deaths in China 2002–2017

Between 2002 and 2017, China’s gross domestic product grew by 284%, but this surge was accompanied by a similarly prodigious growth in energy consumption, air pollution and air pollution-related deaths. Here we use a combination of index decomposition analysis and chemical transport modelling to quantify the relative influence of eight different factors on PM2.5-related deaths in China over the 15-year period from 2002 to 2017. We show that,...