Black Carbon and Climate Change : Considerations for International Development Agencies
This report is intended to inform the international development community about the links between black (BC) carbon and climate change. With growing scientific clarity on the contribution of black carbon to climate change, the benefits of limiting...
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| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/12/15893923/black-carbon-climate-change-considerations-international-development-agencies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18317 |
| Summary: | This report is intended to inform the
international development community about the links between
black (BC) carbon and climate change. With growing
scientific clarity on the contribution of black carbon to
climate change, the benefits of limiting its emissions are
becoming more evident. This report reviews the existing
knowledge on the subject and identifies relevant
considerations for development organizations. Climate
modeling shows that a large reduction in the global amounts
of BC emissions, without changes in emissions of organic
carbon, will lead to a sharp onetime decrease in the warming
influence of human activities. A rapid reduction in BC
emissions has thus been proposed as a way to partially
offset the projected increase in temperatures in coming
decades. This will not solve the long-term problem of
climate change, which is caused by the greenhouse gas
(GHGs), but it could extend the limited time that is
available to reduce emissions of GHGs aggressively, before
global temperatures reach dangerous levels. Proposals to
reduce BC emissions also often address the need to reduce
emissions of several other short-lived gases (such as ozone)
that are mostly not covered by the Kyoto Protocol. This
paper is designed to inform development agencies, in a
brief, simplified, and non-technical manner, about the links
between BC and climate change, and how these could relate to
development policy. The paper describes: (a) what is known
about the impact of BC and related aerosols on climate, (b)
the sources and importance of BC emissions, (c) possible
actions and policies to mitigate emissions, and (d)
considerations for agencies in light of these issues. |
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