Systems Science of Air Pollution, Climate, and Society
Air pollution and climate risk are not isolated environmental problems — they are outcomes of deeply interconnected social, economic, technological, and governance systems. At WEN, we apply systems science to understand how energy choices, urban design, mobility, household behavior, economic inequality, and institutional capacity interact to shape pollution exposure and climate vulnerability. Rather than analyzing sectors in isolation, we map feedback loops, cross-sector trade-offs, unintended consequences, and risk amplification across communities. This whole-system lens allows us to identify leverage points — where targeted interventions can reduce pollution, lower climate risk, and improve equity simultaneously. Our work bridges data, modeling, policy, and ground realities to design solutions that are scientifically rigorous, socially aware, and practically implementable.
High-Resolution Global Activity and Emissions Mapping
Understanding air pollution and climate risk requires more than national averages or annual totals. At WEN, we develop high-resolution spatial and temporal mapping of human activities — including transport, energy use, industry, agriculture, waste, and household behaviors — to capture how emissions vary across neighborhoods, districts, and regions over time. By integrating satellite data, ground observations, mobility patterns, sectoral activity data, and advanced modeling frameworks, we build fine-scale emission inventories that reflect real-world dynamics. This approach enables identification of local hotspots, seasonal patterns, inequality in exposure, and cross-boundary pollution transport. Our high-resolution mapping supports more precise policy targeting, equitable intervention design, and improved climate and air quality planning at multiple governance scales.
Transport Systems: Mobility, Emissions, and Exposure Dynamics
Transport emissions are not just a function of vehicle numbers—they are shaped by travel behavior, road infrastructure, freight flows, land-use patterns, fuel quality, and economic activity. WEN maps high-resolution transport activity across vehicle categories, road types, and urban–rural corridors to quantify both exhaust and non-exhaust emissions, including resuspension and brake/tire wear. We analyze how mobility patterns shift across time—daily, seasonal, and economic cycles—and how these shifts affect air pollution hotspots, climate forcing, and public health exposure. By linking transport systems to urban design and socioeconomic patterns, we identify targeted interventions such as fleet transition strategies, freight restructuring, dust control measures, and infrastructure upgrades that reduce both pollution and climate risk.
Household Energy Systems: Cooking, Fuel Transitions, and Social Equity
Household cooking is not only an energy issue—it is a public health, climate, and inequality issue. WEN analyzes fine-scale household fuel use, stacking behavior, income constraints, fuel supply chains, and gendered exposure patterns to understand how residential energy systems shape both indoor and ambient air pollution. We quantify how shifts between biomass, LPG, electricity, and other fuels influence PM2.5 exposure, short-lived climate pollutants, and carbon emissions. By integrating time-use data, demographic patterns, and regional energy access gaps, we identify where clean cooking transitions succeed, where they stall, and why. Our systems approach supports solutions that combine affordability, infrastructure, behavioral adoption, and long-term climate resilience.
Construction and Urban Growth Systems: Materials, Dust, and Carbon Lock-In
Construction activity drives both immediate air pollution and long-term climate risk. WEN maps construction intensity, material flows, demolition cycles, informal sector practices, and urban expansion patterns to quantify particulate emissions, dust resuspension, embodied carbon, and infrastructure lock-in effects. We assess how rapid urban growth interacts with labor patterns, regulation gaps, and material supply chains to create localized pollution burdens. By linking construction systems to planning policies and economic drivers, we help design interventions that reduce dust emissions, improve material efficiency, lower embodied carbon, and prevent long-term climate lock-in in growing urban regions.
High-Resolution Emission Inventories for Climate Modeling and Decision Support
Effective climate and air quality strategies depend on accurate, spatially and temporally resolved emissions data. WEN develops high-resolution emission inventories that capture real-world activity patterns across sectors—transport, industry, construction, household energy, agriculture, and waste. Instead of relying solely on aggregated statistics, we integrate activity data, fuel use, technology mix, infrastructure conditions, and socioeconomic drivers to map emissions at fine geographic scales and across time.
These inventories are designed for direct use in atmospheric modeling, exposure assessment, climate scenario analysis, and policy evaluation. By aligning bottom-up activity mapping with dispersion modeling and climate simulations, we provide decision-makers with actionable insights—identifying hotspots, testing intervention scenarios, and quantifying both air pollution and climate impacts. Our approach ensures that models reflect system realities, not averages, enabling more precise, equitable, and effective climate and clean air strategies.