On Thin Ice : How Cutting Pollution Can Slow Warming and Save Lives

World Bank ; International Cryosphere Climate Initiative

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACIDIFICATION;    AERATION;    AEROSOL ABSORPTION;    AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH;    AEROSOLS;   

RP-ID  :  82409

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Climate change is happening faster andin a dramatically more visible way in the Earth'scryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere isdefined as elements of the Earth system containing water inits frozen state. The average temperature has risen here atover twice the global mean in the Arctic, AntarcticPeninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountainregions. This report summarizes the changes already beingobserved in the following five major cryosphere regions: theAndes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and theHimalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment ofthe impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reducethe risk to the global environment and human societies,especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurringin these five regions, based on the most recent literature,including the Fifth Assessment Report of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolvingknowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climatespecifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents thebackground and methods used for new modeling work conductedas part of this study, building extensively the UnitedNations Environment Programme/World MeteorologicalOrganization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone(2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modelingin these five major cryosphere regions as well as globallyfor health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6discusses the implications and new directions for thecryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.