Reducing Black Carbon and Agricultural Burning:

Benefitting Health, Climate and Agriculture

Pam Pearson International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI)

August 19, 2011

• Black carbon’s impact on the Arctic – and the Arctic’s impact on global climate change

• Why open burning in Russia is so important to the Arctic

• Planned programs and funding

• Discussion: where should programs focus?

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Summary

Arctic Sea Ice Extent: 2007 “Moved the Mean”

• Arctic is warming over twice as fast as the rest of the globe

• Economic emphasis on opening region to industry, but enormous negative consequences:

– Highly unpredictable weather patterns: drought followed by flooding followed by…?

– More intense weather patterns (extreme cold/heat or dry/wet)

– Sea level rise: Arctic Council estimates at least 1 meter by 2100, possibly more –Greenland melt alone would lead to 7 meter rise is sea level

– Changes in Arctic increase warming globally (loss of polar reflection of sunlight, release of very large stores of greenhouse gas methane in permafrost)

• Need to slow and eventually stop these changes to maintain stable environment

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Backdrop

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Black Carbon’s Importance in the Arctic

Quinn, Impact of Short-Lived Pollutants on Arctic Climate, presented at AMAP, Oslo, September 15 2008

BC and Climate Change at the Third pole | Slide 7

BC on Snow/IceBC on Snow/IceCauses Warming and MeltingCauses Warming and Melting

• Forcing greatest in spring, during melt season.

• Melting increases BC concentration → positive feedback.

• During some spring months, BC-snow forcing exceeds 10 W m2 (huge in climate terms where 1 W m2 is considered large)

Flanner, 2009

So Why Are Agriculture, Grass, Forest Etc Fires In Russia So Important?

Transport of fire emissions into the European Arctic

Extreme pollution

Picture courtesy: Ann-Christine Engvall

At Zeppelin, new records set for practically all measured compounds

Even for ozone and aerosol optical depth, which are both measured since 18 years

Dramatic effects on pollution levels

Stohl et al., ACP, 2007

Black Carbon (soot) – a light absorbing aerosol

Arctic Council Special Working Group: Emissions of BCLamarque et al., ACP, 2010

Domestic Energy +Industrial + Waste

Transport AgriculturalFires

Grass + ForestFires

Some Russian government sources report intentional agricultural fires as the source of 98% of forest, grass and peat fires.

Growing Interest Internationally

• Arctic Council• United Nations: UN Environment

Programme (UNEP), UNFCCC (climate change negotiations)

• Convention on Long-range Transboudnary Air Pollution (CLRTAP), Geneva

• Targeted Financing (methane, cookstoves)

UNEP 2011 Study: Temperature Response to Decreases in Black Carbon and Methane

Reduced Arctic warming by over 0.7 oC by 2040 compared to the reference scenario, with measures taken 2010-2030. Mitigating ~2/3 of projected 1.2 degrees warming

Arctic Council

• Eight member nations (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, U.S.)

• Official and ad hoc observers: EC, U.K., Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France, Spain, China, South Korea

• “SLCF” (Short-lived Climate Forcer) Task Force, SLCF Demonstration Project group and SLCF research group

Current Efforts

• USDA funding for research and conferences• NGO grants for forest area pilot projects:

$100,000 2011 season, $200,000 2012 season• Arctic Council: several million in potential

pipeline• NGOs: Bellona Russia

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Reducing Ag Burning Largely “No regrets”

• Health impacts• Loss of life and property• Least expensive among BC measures (diesel

retrofits $1500/car, $5-6000/truck)• More cost-effective for farmers to use other

methods to deal with stubble (harvest, fertilizer), HOWEVER capital investment needed and significant barrier

Future Efforts:

• Where methods best in Russian agricultural environment (no-till, gather straw for fuel, etc)?

• What support needed in Russian context:– Micro-financing for new equipment?– Seminars?– Using agricultural organizations, extension service?– Demonstration farms?– Working Group on Burning: Spring 2012

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For more information and additional presentations:

www.amap.nowww.unep.int

www.fires-and-the-arctic.orgwww.catf.us

www.iccinet.org