Linking ozone pollution and climate change: The case for controlling methane

Methane (CH4) emission controls are found to be a powerful lever for reducing both global warming and air pollution via decreases in background tropospheric ozone (O3). Reducing anthropogenic CH4 emissions by 50% nearly halves the incidence of U.S. high‐O3 events and lowers global radiative forcing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2002-10, Vol.29 (19), p.25-1-25-4
Main Authors: Fiore, Arlene M., Jacob, Daniel J., Field, Brendan D., Streets, David G., Fernandes, Suneeta D., Jang, Carey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Climate change
Emissions control
Geophysics
Methane
Ozone
Pollution abatement
Radiative forcing
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Summary:Methane (CH4) emission controls are found to be a powerful lever for reducing both global warming and air pollution via decreases in background tropospheric ozone (O3). Reducing anthropogenic CH4 emissions by 50% nearly halves the incidence of U.S. high‐O3 events and lowers global radiative forcing by 0.37 W m−2 (0.30 W m−2 from CH4, 0.07 W m−2 from O3) in a 3‐D model of tropospheric chemistry. A 2030 simulation based upon IPCC A1 emissions projections shows a longer and more intense U.S. O3 pollution season despite domestic emission reductions, indicating that intercontinental transport and a rising O3 background should be considered when setting air quality goals.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2002GL015601