Implications of Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 Methane Emissions to Stabilize Radiative Forcing

Increases in the abundance of methane (CH4) in the Earth’s atmosphere are responsible for significant radiative forcing of climate change (Forster et al., 2007; Wuebbles and Hayhoe, 2002). Since 1750, a 2.5 fold increase in atmospheric CH4 contributed 0.5 W/m2 to direct radiative forcing and an additional 0.2 W/m2 indirectly through changes in atmospheric chemistry. Next to water and carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the troposphere. Additionally, CH4 is significantly more effective as a greenhouse gas on a per molecule basis than is CO2, and increasing atmospheric CH4 has been second only to CO2 in radiative forcing (Forster et al., 2007). The chemical reactivity of CH4 is important to both tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Along with carbon monoxide, methane helps control the amount of the hydroxyl radical (OH) in the troposphere where oxidation of CH4 by OH leads to the formation of formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and ozone

Trade in the balance: reconciling trade and climate policy: report of the Working Group on Trade, Investment, and Climate Policy

This repository item contains a report published by the Working Group on Trade, Investment, and Climate Policy at The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University, and the Global Economic Governance Initiative at Boston University.This report outlines the general tensions between the trade and investment regime and climate policy, and outlines a framework toward making trade and investment rules more climate friendly. Members of the working group have contributed short pieces addressing a range of issues related to the intersection of trade and climate policy. The first two are by natural scientists. Anthony Janetos discusses the need to address the effects of international trade on efforts to limit the increase in global annual temperature to no more than 2oC over preindustrial levels. James J. Corbett examines the failure of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to adequately address the environmental implications of shipping and maritime transport. The next two pieces are by economists who examine economic aspects of the trade-climate linkage. Irene Monasterolo and Marco Raberto discuss the potential impacts of including fossil fuel subsidies reduction under the TTIP. Frank Ackerman explores the economic costs of efforts to promote convergence of regulatory standards between the United States and the European Union under the TTIP. The following two contributions are by legal scholars. Brooke Güven and Lise Johnson explore the potential for international investment treaties to redirect investment flows to support climate change mitigation and adaptation, particularly with regard to China and India. Matt Porterfield provides an overview of the ways in which both existing and proposed trade and investment agreements could have either “climate positive” or “climate negative” effects on mitigation policies. The final article is by Tao Hu, a former WTO trade and environment expert advisor for China and currently at the World Wildlife Fund, arguing that the definition of environmental goods and services’ under the WTO negotiations needs to be expanded to better incorporate climate change

Understanding Climatic Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Adaptation in the United States: Building a Capacity for Assessment

Based on the experience of the U.S. National Assessment, we propose a program of research and analysis to advance capability for assessment of climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and adaptation options. We identify specific priorities for scientific research on the responses of ecological and socioeconomic systems to climate and other stresses; for improvement in the climatic inputs to impact assessments; and for further development of assessment methods to improve their practical utility to decision-makers. Finally, we propose a new institutional model for assessment, based principally on regional efforts that integrate observations, research, data, applications, and assessment on climate and linked environmental-change issues. The proposed program will require effective collaboration between scientists, resource managers, and other stakeholders, all of whose expertise is needed to define and prioritize key regional issues, characterize relevant uncertainties, and assess potential responses. While both scientifically and organizationally challenging, such an integrated program holds the best promise of advancing our capacity to manage resources and the economy adaptively under a changing climate

Climate and Energy-Water-Land System Interactions Technical Report to the U.S. Department of Energy in Support of the National Climate Assessment

This report provides a framework to characterize and understand the important elements of climate and energy-water-land (EWL) system interactions. It identifies many of the important issues, discusses our understanding of those issues, and presents a long-term research program research needs to address the priority scientific challenges and gaps in our understanding. Much of the discussion is organized around two discrete case studies with the broad themes of (1) extreme events and (2) regional intercomparisons. These case studies help demonstrate unique ways in which energy-water-land interactions can occur and be influenced by climate

Comparative Ecology of Two Linyphiid Spiders (Araneae, Linyphiidae)

Volume: 11Start Page: 315End Page: 32

Implications of Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 Methane Emissions to Stabilize Radiative Forcing

Increases in the abundance of methane (CH4) in the Earth’s atmosphere are responsible for significant radiative forcing of climate change (Forster et al., 2007; Wuebbles and Hayhoe, 2002). Since 1750, a 2.5 fold increase in atmospheric CH4 contributed 0.5 W/m2 to direct radiative forcing and an additional 0.2 W/m2 indirectly through changes in atmospheric chemistry. Next to water and carbon dioxide (CO2), methane is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the troposphere. Additionally, CH4 is significantly more effective as a greenhouse gas on a per molecule basis than is CO2, and increasing atmospheric CH4 has been second only to CO2 in radiative forcing (Forster et al., 2007). The chemical reactivity of CH4 is important to both tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Along with carbon monoxide, methane helps control the amount of the hydroxyl radical (OH) in the troposphere where oxidation of CH4 by OH leads to the formation of formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and ozone