AsianScientist (Sep. 19, 2016) – Much of the influence on climate from air pollution in East Asia is driven by consumption in the developed countries of Western Europe and North America, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.
Aerosols in the atmosphere scatter or absorb solar radiation, thus contributing to climate change—an effect known as ‘radiative forcing.’ Some, such as sulfate aerosols, can have a cooling effect. Others, such as black carbon, have a warming effect. Previous studies had shown the role of international trade in redistributing aerosols, but the climate effect of this had not been quantified.
McGill University atmospheric scientist Professor Yi Huang and his colleagues in the United States, United Kingdom and China estimated aerosol emissions related to production and consumption of goods and services for 11 global regions. They then compared the radiative forcing of the production-related and consumption-related aerosols. Their findings reveal that in East Asia, a large net exporter of emissions-intensive goods, radiative forcing due to the production of goods is much stronger than consumption-related forcing.
“Although global pollution is largely generated in developing countries, it is foreign demand that drives much of the goods production and associated pollution,” said Huang.
Interestingly, despite stringent emissions policies in the developed countries, global emissions of many aerosol pollutants have increased in recent years. As a result, efforts may need to be extended to consider emissions embodied in trade, the researchers write.
“A rational person may ask what is the optimal way to distribute goods production such that the overall global pollution and climate forcing is minimized,” Huang said. “This important question has yet to be addressed, but could be through the framework and ideas laid out in this study.”
Thee researchers suggest that technology-transfer programs developed under the Kyoto Protocol could be extended to include aerosol pollution as well as greenhouse gases, for example. Policymakers in developing countries might also consider the extent to which the costs of stricter local environmental regulations could be passed on to consumers in net importing regions.
The article can be found at: Lin et al. (2016) Global Climate Forcing of Aerosols Embodied in International Trade.
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Source: McGill University; Photo: Pixabay.
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