Natural Resources Governance

Natural Resources Governance

Analysis of Air Pollution Control and Reduction Mechanisms in Governance Typology and Strategical Policies

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Sayedeh Alemohammad 1
Majid Ramezani Mehrian 2
1 Department of Geo-Governance, Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 Department of Environmental Studies, the Instirute for Research and Development in the Humanities (SAMT), Tehran,Iran.
10.22059/jnrg.2025.389226.1026
Abstract
The decision-making, implementation, and monitoring system in Iran's air quality field is failing and has resulted in many weaknesses. This research aims to analyze the mechanisms for controlling and reducing air pollution. The methods used include documentary research, comparative analysis, and inference. First, the research proposes relevant approaches for adapting to climate change and increasing carbon sequestration worldwide. Then, the Clean Air Act of the USA and the plans and laws of Iran in the field of reducing and controlling air pollution have been analyzed and compared with each other. The cost-benefit analysis of the US Clean Air Act (1990), shows that the benefits of this act outweighed its costs. The history of plans and laws related to air quality in Iran shows the central governance and the predominance of top-down approaches. Based on the results, pollutant emission inventory should be the basis of air quality management and tthe standards should be determined according to the site-specific conditions and based on different technologies so that the social benefits are balanced with the costs imposed on the society. The legal incentive mechanisms for renewable energy and clean technologies should be a priority. In the future, the active participation of actors and a combination of approaches (command and control, market, network, and society) should be considered. To improve the air quality in Iran, the proposed strategic policies are as follows: education, decentralization of power, reducing monopoly in industries, providing financial resources, location-based monitoring and planning, protection of blue-green infrastructure, and reform of inefficient laws.
Keywords
Iran
Market
Cost-Benefit analysis
Command and control
Air quality
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Natural Resources Governance
Volume 1, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
Winter 2025
Pages 199-218