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This proposal, led by IGAC's Kathy Law, Paul Monks, and Sarah Doherty, aims to address the intertwined issues of air pollution and climate change through coordinated research. Highlighting the urgent need for actionable strategies, it focuses on understanding short-lived climate forcers and their impact on health and climate. Engaging policymakers and utilizing insights from various scientific initiatives, the plan outlines a path for synthesizing research results and defining future projects that bridge climate science, air quality management, and public health.
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SI&E proposalAir Pollution & Climate Proposers: IGAC - Kathy Law, Paul Monks, Sarah Doherty • Background - future programmes to focus on addressing societal needs through thematic and fundamental research projects (IGAC Future Directions meeting (Royal Soc., London, Sept. 2009) • Prime example: climate, air quality & health • A lot of interest from policy makers (AQ agencies, UNEP, Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Pollution, IPCC etc.)
Motivation: short-lived forcers ARE already key climate forcing agents Air Quality “regulated?” aerosols are the largest factors offsetting greenhouse gas forcing!
Forcing agents: Air Quality & Climate ‘AIR QUALITY’ ‘CLIMATE’ Trop O3 Black Carbon CO2 Halo Carbs CH4 N4O Aerosols (direct + indirect) “AQ”? Ravishankara (NOAA) • Regulation of certain short-lived forcers (or precursors) could provide short-term climate relief (next 5-20 years) • Huge benefits for health and climate (e.g. black carbon from cook stoves - major source of illness/deaths & emissions) • AQ and climate policies & their impacts need to be examined together and based on sound scientific knowledge
SI&E proposalAir Pollution & Climate In parallel: Synthesis of Role of Air Pollutants in Climate Change: the scientific basis (2010-2011) • Synthesize results coming out of IGBP core projects (IGAC, AIMES, iLEAPS, SOLAS, …), cross-cutting initiatives (AC&C, ACPC), international assessments (e.g. UNEP report on BC/ozone), etc. • Identify and start to “quantify” uncertainties (new metrics) Integration & Exploration (2010-2012) • Build bridges across to IHDP (health), WCRP (climate) and policy makers • Define an action plan for future project(s) based on key knowledge gaps and uncertainties
SI&E proposalAir Pollution & Climate Proposed plan • Meeting of core group (still tbd), autumn 2010 - representatives from IGBP core projects, IHDP, WCRP, policy makers to work on synthesis • Publish synthesis in high level journal (early 2011) • Plan for a joint IGBP-WCRP-IHDP-policy workshop in early-mid 2011 with aim to define an action plan for next 2-4? Years Request seed funds for these activities from IGBP but would also aim to spin up new projects