Black carbon and tropospheric ozone have detrimental impacts on health, climate and the environment. This assessment looks into all aspects of anthropogenic emissions of black carbon and tropospheric ozone precursors, such as methane. It also examines a large number of technically feasible measures to reduce harmful emissions and identifies 16 measures that would produce important climate, health and crop yield benefits. UNEP/WMO, 2011.

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This report addresses the mitigation of short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) and its key role in air pollution reduction, climate protection and sustainable development. SLCFs are substances in the atmosphere that contribute to global warming and have relatively short lifetimes in the atmosphere. The focus is on three SLCFs – black carbon, tropospheric ozone and methane – because reducing them will provide significant benefits through improved air quality and a slowing of near-term climate change. UNEP, 2011.

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Due to the phase-out of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), under the Montreal Protocol, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emissions are dangerously growing. This report describes the linkages between hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emissions, climate protection, and protection of the ozone layer. UNEP, 2011.

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As countries phase out hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, they often need to make choices between high-GWP HFC alternatives and, when available, more climate-friendly alternatives. Depending on the alternatives selected, the increase in HFC emissions could partly offset the climate benefits achieved by the earlier reduction in ozone-depleting substance (ODS) emissions under the Montreal Protocol.

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This study reports on the economic cost of the health impacts of air pollution from road transport – on a global scale but with special reference to China, India and the OECD countries. OECD, 2014

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This report presents the results of a systematic review of evidence of the health effects of black carbon (BC). The Task Force on Health agreed that a reduction in exposure to PM2.5 containing BC and other combustion-related PM material for which BC is an indirect indicator should lead to a reduction in the health effects associated with PM. The Task Force recommended that PM2.5 should continue to be used as the primary metric in quantifying human exposure to PM and the health effects of such exposure, and for predicting the benefits of exposure reduction measures. The use of BC as an additional indicator may be useful in evaluating local action aimed at reducing the population’s exposure to combustion PM (for example, from motorized traffic). WHO, 2012.

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The report, compiled by a team of researchers from Asia, Europe and the United States, discussed the effects of atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) in the Asian region.

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Immediate reduction of black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants could delay a rapid thawing of the Arctic region. This report provides a comprehensive overview of black carbon in the Arctic region, including a summary of key findings relevant for policy and science.
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), 2011

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