The Arctic Council has released a new report on its webpage. The report is from The Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Forcers.
SLCF (Short-Lived Climate Forcers) are subsets of greenhouse gases and aerosols that alter Earth’s energy balance. Unlike long-lived greenhouse gases like Carbon Dioxide (CO2), SLCF´s remain for a much shorter time in the atmosphere.
The task force was established with the 2009 Tromsø Declaration and focused initially on black carbon. SLCF´s also include directly emitted greenhouse gases like methane.
The report states that the largest sources of BC emissions in Arctic Council nations have been identified. Overall, total BC emissions from Arctic Council nations are projected to decrease in the coming decades, primarily due to the effective implementation of transportation-related PM controls.
To maximize climate benefits, the report states that PM control programs must aim to achieve maximum BC reductions. Several mitigation measures have been identified to further reduce major emission source categories.
The task force also claims that additional measurements, research, and analyses are needed to better identify the specific BC mitigation measures—both inside and outside of the Arctic Council nations—that will lead to the largest Arctic climate benefits.
The Task Force has been requested to continue its work on short lived climate forcers and will focus on methane and tropospheric ozone, as well as further black carbon work where necessary and provide a report to the next Ministerial Meeting in 2013.