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Linking ozone pollution and climate change: The case for controlling methane
Author(s) -
Fiore Arlene M.,
Jacob Daniel J.,
Field Brendan D.,
Streets David G.,
Fernandes Suneeta D.,
Jang Carey
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl015601
Subject(s) - ozone , environmental science , climate change , methane , pollution , atmospheric sciences , climatology , meteorology , oceanography , geology , geography , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry , biology
Methane (CH 4 ) emission controls are found to be a powerful lever for reducing both global warming and air pollution via decreases in background tropospheric ozone (O 3 ). Reducing anthropogenic CH 4 emissions by 50% nearly halves the incidence of U.S. high‐O 3 events and lowers global radiative forcing by 0.37 W m −2 (0.30 W m −2 from CH 4 , 0.07 W m −2 from O 3 ) 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. O 3 pollution season despite domestic emission reductions, indicating that intercontinental transport and a rising O 3 background should be considered when setting air quality goals.