The UNEP/WMO assessment of measures to limit near-term climate change and improve air quality

The United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization (UNEP/WMO) assessment of measures to limit near-term climate change and improve air quality is discussed. The analysis of measures performed for the UNEP assessment was carried out initially using the roughly two thousand such measures included in the Greenhouse gas, Air pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) database at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. The impact on temperature was estimated using a combination of information from global composition-climate models and from the assessment of the magnitude and uncertainty range of the influence of various physical processes on climate based on published observations and modeling. The assessment found that full implementation of the targeted measures to reduce emissions of CH4 and BC would greatly reduce global mean warming rates. The assessment finds that globally, the identified measures can substantially mitigate near-term global warming.

Duke Scholars

Author Drew Todd Shindell Earth and Climate Sciences