To accurately assess the health benefits of the coal-to-electricity policy during the heating period in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH) Region, the premature deaths caused by PM2.5 before and after the implementation of the coal-to-electricity policy during the heating period in each district and county of the BTH Region were estimated, and the corresponding health loss values were calculated using the willingness to pay method. The results showed that the implementation of the coal-to-electricity policy in the BTH Region brought 1745 cases(95% CI:1443-1907) of health benefits and 2.38 billion yuan(95% CI:1.45-3.06) in economic benefits. In Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei there were 495 cases(95% CI:436-554), 296 cases(95% CI:238-354), and 954 cases(95% CI:693-1076) of health benefits, respectively. The economic benefits were 0.35 billion yuan(95% CI:0.30-0.39), 0.33 billion yuan(95% CI:0.27-0.40), and 1.70 billion yuan(95% CI:0.88-2.28), respectively, accounting for 0.01%, 0.02%, and 0.04% of GDP in each region. The number of premature deaths due to COPD, LC, ALRI, IHD, and STROKE decreased by 187 cases(95% CI:165-224), 318 cases(95% CI:178-458), 193 cases(95% CI:115-204), 506 cases(95% CI:232-780), and 542 cases(95% CI:463-621), respectively. Areas with relatively high environmental PM2.5 concentrations and concentrated population-intensive pollution emissions can achieve significant health and economic benefits.
Keywords: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region; PM2.5; coal-to-electricity policy; health benefits; premature mortality.