Younha Kim
Research Scholar
Pollution Management Research Group
Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Biography
Younha Kim is a Research Scholar in the Pollution Management Research Group within the Energy, Climate, and Environment Program at IIASA. She first came to IIASA in 2014 as a participant in the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) and returned to the institute in 2019. She received her master's and doctoral degrees in atmospheric environment from Konkuk University, South Korea, where her Ph.D. research focused on developing and applying the GAINS-Korea integrated assessment model for air quality policy assessment.Her research focuses on emission inventories, emission processing for atmospheric chemistry-transport modelling, air quality policy assessment, future emission scenarios, and the development and application of integrated assessment models. She has extensive experience in international collaborative research projects aimed at supporting evidence-based policymaking through scientific research and bridging the gap between science and policy.
Her current work focuses on improving volatile organic compound (VOC) emission modeling in the GAINS model, including VOC speciation, sector-specific mitigation options, and the role of VOCs in air quality assessment and future air quality projections. This work supports the assessment of VOC contributions to ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation and the design of effective air pollution control strategies. She co-leads AQNEA and coordinates activities under GUIDE, supporting integrated assessment modeling and policy-relevant air quality analysis across Northeast Asia and other regions.
Last update: 15 JUL 2026
Publications
Kim, J., Jang, Y., Hu, H., Kim, Y. , Kim, B., Yoo, S.J., Lee, J.-B., Eun, S.-H., Hong, S.-C., Jin, H., & Woo, J.-H. (2025). Analysis of Health Impacts from Future Air Quality Changes Considering the Aging Population in Korea. Atmosphere 16 (1) e41. 10.3390/atmos16010041.
Zhao, Y., Sun, H., Kim, Y. , Shu, Y., Wang, H., Li, H., & Deng, Y. (2025). A comprehensive provincial-level VOCs emission inventory and scenario analysis for China: Enhanced sectoral resolution through GAINS-China model. Atmospheric Environment: X 25 e100316. 10.1016/j.aeaoa.2025.100316.
IEA (2025). World Energy Outlook 2025. International Energy Agency (IEA) , Paris, France.
Kim, E., Kim, B.-U., Kim, H.C., Liu, Y., Kang, Y.H., Jacob, D.J., Kim, Y.P., Woo, J.-H., Kim, J., Wang, S., Yoo, C., Bae, C., Kim, Y. , & Kim, S. (2024). North Korean CO emissions reconstruction using DMZ ground observations, TROPOMI space-borne data, and the CMAQ air quality model. Science of the Total Environment 921 e171059. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171059.
Woo, J.-H., Kim, Y. , Choi, K.-C., Lee, Y.-M., Jang, Y., Kim, J., Klimont, Z. , Kim, D.-G., Lee, J.-B., Jin, H., Hu, H., & Ahn, Y.-H. (2024). Development of a greenhouse gas - air pollution interactions and synergies model for Korea (GAINS-Korea). Scientific Reports 14 (1) e3372. 10.1038/s41598-024-53632-w.