The 2nd Short-lived Pollutants and Arctic Climate Workshop, gathering 40 leading climate scientists from Europe, Asia and the U.S., was hosted by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) in Oslo, Norway, 5-7 November.
Reductions in the atmospheric burden of CO2 are the backbone of any meaningful effort to mitigate climate forcing. But, even if swift and deep reductions were made, given the long lifetime of CO2, the reductions may not be achieved in time to delay a rapid melting of the Arctic. Hence, the goal of constraining the length of the melt season and, in particular, delaying the onset of spring melt, may best be achieved by targeting shorter-lived climate forcing agents which also impact Arctic climate. Addressing these species has the advantage that emission reductions will trigger climate response almost immediately. These agents include methane, tropospheric ozone and black carbon, all of which are strongly influenced by human activity.
The workshop concluded, after three days of work and discussions, on the following statement for immediate measures
- Reduce methane emissions globally.
- Implement a northern hemisphere tropospheric ozone reduction strategy targeting NMVOCs, CO and methane with an emphasis on reductions at higher latitudes.
- Due to their impact on climate, emissions of short-lived pollutants within the Arctic should be minimized.
- Implement a black carbon (BC) reduction strategy in the northern hemisphere targeting BC sources that result in deposition within the Arctic - particularly during winter and spring.
The workshop was sponsored by the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project (IGAC) of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), USA, the Climate Policy Center (CPC), USA, and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Norway.
For further information, please contact:
Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU): Senior Scientists: Andreas Stohl, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , mob.: +47 97460324 and John Burkhart, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , mob.: +47 96825011, NORWAY
International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Program: Kathy Law, IGAC co-chair - CNRS-IPSL-UPMC, FRANCE, ph.: +33 144278421, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Clean Air Task Force (CATF): Ellen Baum, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , +1 2076665676, USA
Climate Policy Center (CPC): Pam Pearson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , mob.: +4644330357, SWEDEN
Here is a workshop program and list of participants.
Background:
Arctic temperatures have increased at almost twice the global average rate over the past 100 years [IPCC, 2007]. Warming in the Arctic has been accompanied by an earlier onset of spring melt, a lengthening of the melt season, and changes in the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheets and extent of Arctic sea ice. Impacts of ice loss include reduction of the Earth's albedo, a positive feedback that leads to further warming. Timescales for a collapse of the Greenland ice sheet and a transition to a seasonally ice-free Arctic are highly uncertain, as are the regional and global impacts.
Workshops:
An initial workshop was held at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) in New York and attendance was by invitation only. The workshop was highly successful, and a report about the outcome of this workshop was recently submitted to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussion. The success of this initial workshop led to the decision that a series of follow-up workshops shall be held during the course of the International Polar Year (IPY) These workshops will be open to all scientists. The workshop hosted by NILU is the second on the theme.
The goals of the workshops are to assess the current understanding of the impact of short-lived pollutants on Arctic climate and to outline research that is needed to further our understanding. The NILU workshop was held before the bulk of the IPY measurement season in order to inform, coordinate, and improve measurement and modeling activites during IPY. Maximizing the scientific knowledge gained from IPY activities will depend on integrating measurement and modeling activities so a primary objective of these workshops will be to promote focused discussion between those doing field measurements and those following up with modelling.
