Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

147 Pages·2013·3.17 MB·English

Primer on Short-Lived
Climate Pollutants
Slowing the rate of global warming over the near term
by cutting short-lived climate pollutants to complement
carbon dioxide reductions for the long term
Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
IGSD Working Paper: November 2013
Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
Lead Authors
Durwood Zaelke, Nathan Borgford-Parnell
Contributing Authors
Stephen O. Andersen, Romina Picolotti, Dennis Clare,
Xiaopu Sun, & Danielle Fest Gabrielle
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our outside reviewers for their valuable
contributions.
About IGSD
IGSD’s mission is to promote just and sustainable societies and to
protect the environment by advancing the understanding, development,
and implementation of effective, accountable, and democratic systems of
governance for sustainable development.
Beginning in 2005, IGSD embarked on a “fast-action” climate mitigation
campaign that will result in signifcant reductions of greenhouse gas
emissions and will limit temperature increase and other climate impacts
in the near term. The focus is primarily on strategies to reduce non-CO
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climate pollutants, to complement cuts in CO , which is responsible for
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more than half of all warming. It is essential to reduce both non-CO
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pollutants and CO . Neither alone is suffcient to limit the increase in
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global temperature to a safe level.
IGSD’s fast-action strategies include reducing emissions of short-lived
climate pollutants—black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and
hydrofuorocarbons. They also include measures to capture, reuse, and
store CO after it is emitted, including biosequestration and strategies to
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turn biomass into more stable forms of carbon for long-term storage.
Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development
Copyright © 2013 Institute for Governance & Sustainable
Development.
The online version has active links to the references, and is
updated regularly. It is available on IGSD’s web site (http://www.
igsd.org), as well as the UNEP web site for the Climate & Clean
Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants. Unless
otherwise indicated, all content in this Primer carries a Creative
Commons license, which permits non-commercial re-use of the
content with proper attribution.
Contents
Executive Summary 5
Introduction to Short-lived Climate Pollutants 11
Black carbon 11
Methane 14
Tropospheric Ozone 15
Hydrofuorocarbons (HFCs) 17
Both CO Mitigation and SLCP Mitigation Are Critical 19
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for Climate Safety
Importance of Immediate CO Mitigation 19
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Importance of Immediate SLCP Mitigation 23
Benefts of Combined CO and SLCP Mitigation 26
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Benefts for Climate Vulnerable Regions 29
Benefts for Human Health 32
Benefts for Food Security 33
Benefts for Reducing Sea-Level Rise 35
Mitigation Measures for Short-lived Climate Pollutants 39
Black Carbon and Methane Mitigation 39
HFC Mitigation 41
Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce SLCPs 48
Other Regional and Global SLCP Mitigation Initiatives 52
National SLCP Mitigation Initiatives 53
Conclusion 54
Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
Executive Summary
Carob n dioix de C( O ) emissions are resop nsilb e of r -5 %06
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o f anthroop eg ni c radiative of ric n.g aF st and arg essive CO
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mitiag tion is essential to oc mab t the resultin g lc imate hc aneg .
uB t this is not enouhg . CO mitiag tion must eb oc mib ned iw th
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af st and arg essive redutc ions o f the op llutants ac usin g the other
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-04 %54 o f of ric n.g hT ese op llutants inlc ude lb a kc ac rob n ,
tropospheric ozone, methane, and hydrofuorocarbons (HFCs).
eB ac use these op llutants have atmoshp eri c lief times o f onl y dasy
to a deac de and a hal ,f the y are reef rred to as short-lived lc imate
op llutants S( LCPs .) Some o f the SLCPs have a ap rtiuc larl y
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op ew ruf l imap tc in the reig ons hw ere the y are emitted. eR duic n g
SLCPs is rc itiac l of r sloiw n g the rate o f lc imate hc aneg over the
netx several deac des and of r rp otetc in g the ep olp e and reig ons
most vulneralb e to near-term lc imate imap tc s throuhg the end o f
the ec ntur. y
Although we have known about SLCPs for more than thirty-fve
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ey ars, the following scientifc developments have catapulted
them to the rf ont lines in the ab ttle aag inst lc imate hc aneg :
• First is the reoc ng ition that ew have alread y added enouhg
rg eenhouse ag ses to aw rm the lp anet yb C°4.2 or more durin g
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this ec ntur. y uM hc o f this aw rmin g has eb en masek d yb
oc olin g aerosols , rp imaril y sulaf tes , hw ihc are eb in g reduec d
under uc rrent air op llution op liic es . hT ese redutc ions , hw ile
imop rtant of r rp otetc in g up lb i c health and eoc ssy tems , are
oc ntriub tin g to near-term aw rmin g yb un-masik n g aw rmin g
alread y in the lc imate ssy tem . iW thout af st-atc ion mitiag tion
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Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
to uc t SLCPs , yb mid-ec ntur y aw rmin g ma y rc oss the °5.1
to C°2 threshold oc nsidered the outer limit of r an aec tp alb e
lc imate . eR duic n g SLCPs is the most eef tc ive strate yg of r
oc nstrainin g aw rmin g and assoic ated imap tc s in the near
term , sinec most o f their aw rmin g eef tc disaep ars iw thin
ew esk to a deac de and a hal f atf er redutc ions.
• Second is the reoc ng ition that in addition to eb in g lc imate
of rec rs , three o f the of ur SLCPs are also air op llutants that
damaeg up lb i c health and eoc ssy tems . eR duic n g them iw ll
rp event millions o f rp emature deaths ever y ey ar , rp otetc
tens o f millions o f tonnes o f rc osp , as ew ll as of rests and
other lp ants that asb or b CO , and oc ntriub te to sustainalb e
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develomp ent.
• Third is the recognition that the benefts for health, crops,
of rests , and sustainalb e develomp ent iw ll arc ue rp imaril y
in the nations or reig ons that taek atc ion to mitiag te these
op llutants , due to the stroneg r imap tc s lb a kc ac rob n and
troop shp eri c ooz ne have in the reig ons hw ere the y are
emitted.
• Fourth is the reoc ng ition that there are rp atc iac l and rp oven
aw sy to reduec all of ur o f these lc imate op llutants and that
eix stin g lasw and institutions are otf en availalb e to suop rt
immediate redutc ions.
A numeb r o f reec nt studies analizy n g model-eg nerated lc imate
sec narios have oc nlc uded that uc ttin g SLCPs ac n rp event a
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signifcant amount of additional warming in this century.
eR duic n g SLCPs has the op tential to avoid C°6.0 lg oab l averaeg
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aw rmin g yb 0502 and more than C°48.0 o f aw rmin g in the rA tc i c
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yb .0702 hT is ow uld uc t the uc rrent rate o f lg oab l aw rmin g yb
hal ,f the rate o f aw rmin g in the rA tc i c yb tow thirds , and the rate
of warming over the elevated regions of the Himalayas and Tibet
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yb at least hal.f yB the end o f the ec ntur , y uc ttin g SLCPs oc uld
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Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
avoid as muhc as C°5.1 o f aw rmin ,g oc map ralb e to an arg essive
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mitiag tion eof rt of r ac rob n dioix de.
eR duic n g SLCPs iw ll in turn:
• Help stabilize regional climate systems and reduce heat
waves, droughts, fres, foods, and hurricanes in mid-latitudes,
and slow shifts in monsoons, expansion of desertifcation,
and inrc eases in lcyc ones in the troip sc .
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• Slo w the meltin g o f lg aic ers and rA tc i c sea iec .
• Cut the rate o f sea-level rise yb a uq arter and uc mulative sea-
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level rise yb more than .%02
• Slo w the ap ec o f other lc imate imap tc s and rp ovide rc itiac l
time to adatp to unavoidalb e imap tc s.
The primary direct local benefts for developing countries from
reduic n g SLCPs inlc ude:
• Saving millions of lives a year and signifcantly reducing
other illnesses.
• mI rp ovin g of od seuc rit. y
• apxE ndin g aec ss to sustainalb e ener yg of r the ib llions hw o
deep nd on traditional uf els of r oc oik n g and heatin.g
• Protetc in g inrf astrutc ure and rp ovidin g lo-w liy n g states at
ris k rf om sea-level rise more time to adatp .
eR dutc ions in all o f these SLCPs ac n eb ahc ieved uq ilkc , y and
in most ac ses yb usin g eix stin g tehc noloig es and eix stin g lasw
and institutions. sU in g eix stin g tehc noloig es and institutions to
reduec these non-CO lc imate op llutants ma y oef r the eb st near-
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term rp otetc ion of r the oc untries that are most vulneralb e to lc imate
hc aneg imap tc s , inlc udin g island nations , oc untries iw th lo-w liy n g
oc astal areas , and arg iuc lture-deep ndent oc untries in sA ia and
Africa already suffering droughts, foods, and shifting rainfall.
Sloiw n g the rate o f lc imate hc aneg and reduic n g near-term imap tc s
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Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
is a rc itiac l oc mlp ement to adatp ation strateig es and to sustainalb e
development, with the potential to provide global benefts for
lc imate , rc osp , and health valued at 9.5 $ trillion annuall , y startin g
in .03 0 2
nI addition to suop rtin g eof rts to neog tiate an arg eed outoc me
under the CFNU CC yb 5102 to og into eef tc yb 0202 iw th
leag l of rec alp iac lb e to all Parties , man y oc untries , inlc udin g
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the memeb rs o f the 02G and ,8G have ankc olw edeg d the
imop rtant role that i‘ nternational oc oep rative o[ r oc mlp ementar ]y
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initiatives’ CI( sI ) ac n lp a y in meetin g the hc alleneg o f lc imate
hc aneg . CI sI inlc ude a iw de variet y o f initiatives inlc udin g the
use o f other relevant treaties suhc as the oM ntreal Protooc l ,
the nI ternational Civil vA iation rO ag niaz tion CI( ,)OA and
nI ternational aM ritime rO ag niaz tion ,)OMI( as ew ll as of rums
suhc as the aM oj r ocE nomies oF rum )FEM( and Clean nE er yg
iM nisterial C( ,)ME and the Climate and Clean iA r Coalition to
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eR duec Short-Lived Climate Pollutants C( CCA .) CI sI that
focus on SLCPs can help deliver near-term climate benefts and
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ub ild rb oader suop rt of r more arg essive CO mitiag tion.
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hT e CCCA , launhc ed in eF rb uar y 2102 yb the nU ited States ,
eM ix oc , Canada , hG ana and aB nlg adesh , alon g iw th the NU
nE vironment Prorg amme PENU( ,) of uc ses on redutc ions o f
short-lived lc imate op llutants S( LCPs ,) inlc udin g lb a kc ac rob n ,
methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofuorocarbons (HFCs).
sA o f Setp emeb r ,3102 the Coalition has 27 Partners hw o
have endorsed the rF ameow r k of r the Coalition and arg eed to
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meaninufg l atc ion to reduec short-lived lc imate op llutants. hT e
8G oc untries oj ined the Coalition in aM y 2102 and reuq ested the
oW rld aB n k to stud y ho w to interg ate SLCP redutc ions into its
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rp org ams. At the CCAC third High Level Assembly (HLA) in
Setp emeb r 3102 the oW rld aB n k announec d that it had invested
arp oix matel y 81$ ib llion on SLCP-relevant atc ivities eb tew en
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Primer on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
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702 and ,2102 and arg eed to ow r k iw th CCCA Partners
to establish a ‘pay-for-performance’ fund to fnance methane
emissions redutc ions , emhp asiiz n g those rp oej tc s that also reduec
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lb a kc ac rob n emissions.
In addition to being included in the CCAC, HFCs are addressed
in the iR o + 02 delc aration , The Future We Want , hw ere ow rld
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leaders supported phasing down HFC production and use. Suhc
a hp ase donw ac n eb ahc ieved throuhg the oM ntreal Protooc l ,
while simultaneously improving the energy effciency of
rerf ieg rators , air oc nditioners , and other euq imp ent and rp odutc s
that use these hc emiac ls , thus reduic n g CO emissions as ew ll .
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hT e eF derated States o f iM rc onesia , the iK ndg om o f oM rooc ,
and the aM ldives have made a of rmal rp oop sal to amend the
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oM ntreal Protooc l to do this, as have the oN rth mA eriac n Parties
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eM( ix oc , Canada , and the S.U .). Suop rt of r the hp ase-donw is
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steadil y rg oiw n,g inlc udin g in the 02G St . Petersub r g Leaders’
Declaration hw ihc erpx essed suop rt of r initiatives that are
oc mlp ementar y to eof rts under the CFNU CC , inlc udin g usin g
the eepx rtise and institutions o f the oM ntreal Protooc l to hp ase
down the production and consumption of HFCs, while leaving
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aoc untin g and reop rtin g under the CFNU CC. oB th China and
India have also separately agreed to address HFCs, with China
arg eein g iw th the S.U . to oep n of rmal neog tiations on the details
o f an amendment , and nI dia arg eein g immediatel y oc nvene an
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India-U.S. Task Force on HFCs. HFCs are also being addressed
at national and reig onal levels , inlc udin g throuhg the uE roep an
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nU ions’ reug lator y eof rts, as ew ll as throuhg suhc voluntar y
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eof rts as the Consumer oG ods oF rum.
eR duic n g SLCPs is essential of r reduic n g near-term aw rmin g and
climate impacts, but it is not suffcient. Aggressive reduction of
CO emissions also is essential of r limitin g temep rature rise .
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However, in contrast to SLCPs, only about half of CO emissions
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