Black carbon (BC) emissions affect the Earth's climate in a number of ways. The ability of BC to absorb light energy and its role in key atmospheric processes link it to a range of climate impacts, including increased temperatures, accelerated ice and snow melt, and disruptions to precipitation patterns. Mounting scientific evidence suggests that reducing current emissions of BC can provide near-term climate benefits, particularly for sensitive regions such as the Arctic. Because of the strong warming potential and short atmospheric lifetime of BC, BC mitigation offers an opportunity to address key climate effects and slow the rate of climate change. However, BC reductions cannot substitute for reductions in long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are essential for mitigating climate change in the long run.

Project officer: Erika Sasser. "March 2011." External Peer Review Draft. "Do not cite or quote"--running header. "EPA-450/D-11-001." "PB2011-107590."

Black carbon (BC) emissions affect the Earth's climate in a number of ways. The ability of BC to absorb light energy and its role in key atmospheric processes link it to a range of climate impacts, including increased temperatures, accelerated ice and snow melt, and disruptions to precipitation patterns. Mounting scientific evidence suggests that reducing current emissions of BC can provide near-term climate benefits, particularly for sensitive regions such as the Arctic. Because of the strong warming potential and short atmospheric lifetime of BC, BC mitigation offers an opportunity to address key climate effects and slow the rate of climate change. However, BC reductions cannot substitute for reductions in the long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are essential for mitigating climate change in the long run. Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Black carbon effects on climate -- Chapter 3: Black carbon effects on public health and the environment -- Chapter 4: Emissions of black carbon -- Chapter 5: Observational data for black carbon -- Chapter 6: Mitigation overview: climate and health benefits of reducing black carbon emissions -- Chapter 7: Mitigation approaches for mobile sources -- Chapter 8: Mitigation approaches for stationary sources -- Chapter 9: Mitigation approaches for residential heating and cooling -- Chapter 10: Mitigation approaches for open biomass burning -- Chapter 11: Metrics for comparing black carbon impacts to impacts of other climate forcers -- Chapter 12: Conclusions and research recommendations.