Energy planning in urban areas under climate change: An integrated energy-emission-health optimization model

To effectively plan and manage the energy in urban areas especially mega cities, it is essential to consider different trade-offs and co-benefits of energy transition pathways towards sustainability. In this study, the integrated optimization model is presented to select the best transition pathways considering the economic costs of changes, the greenhouse gas emissions, and health effects of air pollutants. This study evaluates eight different approach across four scenarios under climate change until 2050. The approaches range from single-objective (greedy) economic and environmental approaches to multi-objective ones. The results of this study indicate co-benefit of total greenhouse gas emission and total human health due to air pollution in cities by correlation coefficient of 0.63 (0.46–0.68). The correlation coefficient of total greenhouse gas emission and total descanted economic cost is −0.17 (-0.28–10), which clearly demonstrates that there are significant economic potentials that, despite economic co-benefits, are also advantageous for the climate change. On the other hand there is −0.69 (-0.85 to −0.67) correlation coefficient for total descanted economic cost and total human health due to air pollution. This work provides a framework for policymakers and scientists to consider co-benefits and demonstrates how the approach to the study can affect the results. The findings and proposed framework can support not only local decision-making but also serve as a valuable reference for international studies and broader applications in sustainable urban energy planning. • Developing an integrated energy-emission-health optimization model. • Introducing novel indices for co-benefit quantification. • Proposing a joint function to balance climate, economic, and health trade-offs. • Identifying the strong correlation between climate change and air pollution. • Revealing the inverse relationship between health impacts and economic costs.