Download draft proposal - Stockholm Environment Institute

21 January 2008
Background Paper
REGIONAL AIR POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE;
PROMOTING COST-EFFECTIVE INTEGRATED STRATEGIES
In December 2007 the Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum was awarded a grant
from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to develop a
programme and hold a major international conference on the co-benefits of
controlling air pollution and greenhouse gases. The conference will be held in the
autumn of 2008. The location of the conference has yet to be determined.
The conference and Forum programme will focus on three major themes:
1. Towards optimizing integrated strategies for air pollution and climate change;
2. Potential regional, hemispheric and global frameworks for managing air pollution
and their relevance to and interaction with the climate change community; and
3. Delivering co-benefits at urban, national and regional scales in developing regions.
This is the second major grant the Forum has received from Sida.
Background and Overview
The health and environmental effects associated with air pollution – particularly in
developing nations – are so significant that there is an urgent need to promote more
effective international systems and frameworks for addressing these problems at the
local, regional and hemispheric scales. At the same time there are critical, welldocumented linkages between air pollution and climate change – in terms of sources
and effects - and emerging evidence of substantial potential co-benefits and synergies
from integrated control strategies that address both issues together.
However, the air pollution and climate change communities have until now moved in
separate policy and science arenas, as evidenced by the very low attention paid to air
pollution in the recent IPCC reports. Also, whilst the climate change community is
well organised globally, the air pollution community is more focussed at the local,
national and regional scales, again hindering convergent approaches.
Given the urgency of tackling climate change, it is now essential to look for
opportunities to develop air pollution strategies that facilitate - rather than impede efforts to tackle climate change. This is especially important for developing countries
where resources are scarce. Many of these countries are facing growing air pollution
challenges, are in the early stages of developing air pollution control programmes, and
are beginning to consider greenhouse gas reduction strategies.
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The Global Atmospheric Pollution Forum is planning a programme that will include
organizing a major conference in autumn 2008, on the policies and systems required
to ensure that:
1) the scientific and policy linkages between air pollution and climate change are
well articulated to policy makers and in a form that can be acted upon;
2) the co-benefits of mitigation options and their implementation potential are
understood for different parts of the world; and
3) emerging regional, hemispheric and global air pollution strategies are
optimised in terms of their parallel potential for CO2 emission reduction, and
can be the basis for integrated climate change-air pollution reduction strategies
relevant to the needs of developing nations.
The overall objective is to help reduce the costs and time-scales currently involved in
addressing air pollution and climate issues separately by encouraging the development
of integrated, synergistic strategies at the regional, hemispheric and global scales.
Aims of the Programme
The specific aim of the programme and conference is to develop proposals for more
effective joint strategies for abating climate and pollution problems to be relevant at
regional, national and urban scales:
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Building upon the Forum’s current work on options for the long-term
institutional arrangement for the management of air pollution at regional,
hemispheric and global scales, the project aims to produce recommendations
on how those options can be further developed and pursued in ways which
can create synergies with climate change policy development through
collaboration with the global climate change community;
-
Bringing together and reviewing the recent work, mainly in developed
countries, on the co-benefits from policy measures which jointly abate climate
change and pollution, and to promote a process for relating this more directly
than at present to the different policy needs and opportunities in developing
countries, primarily in Asia, where emissions are rapidly increasing; and
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Utilising the resources of the Forum – bringing together the main
governmental and non-governmental bodies concerned with regional and
global pollution – to disseminate the conclusions and options effectively in
developing countries. Dissemination to the wider climate change community
will be equally important.
Relevance of the Project
The growth in local, regional and hemispheric air pollution, and the fact that they are
closely linked to climate change, is already widely recognised. But the implications
of this - and opportunities foregone by not adequately acting on it - are not widely
appreciated. It is arguable that, in terms of its scale and the potential benefits from
addressing it, this should now be one of the priority concerns for climate policy.
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The underlying problems are, in summary:
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The long-range transport of air pollution at regional hemispheric and global
scales is rising, impacting on human health, the environment and economies.
It is a significant element in a global toll of advanced deaths from pollution
which numbers over 800,000 deaths per year from outdoor air pollution,
primarily in the developing world. Yet there is no international framework for
promoting consensus on the problem and potential solutions similar, for
instance, to UNFCCC for climate change. Progressive development of an
effective air pollution framework is now urgent.
-
The absence of such a framework also means that there is no effective route
for addressing the implications of the interaction of climate change and air
pollution through a connection to the climate change community. Indeed the
two issues are now so closely linked that it no longer makes sense, at the
international scale, to see them as separate issues. But the implications of
addressing them together have to be thought through, as abating air pollution
can have positive outcomes for pollutants such as black carbon (soot) but can
also exacerbate global warming (e.g. the reduction in sulphur-based aerosol
pollutants reducing the cooling effect on the earth’s climate).
-
Failure to work through the implications of the relationship and to see what
they imply for the way in which regional and global air pollution are managed
has immediate practical implications for everyday policy. Because they have
the same sources there are many potential co-benefits and synergies from
bringing together the policy measures to address air pollution and greenhouse
gases at urban, national and regional scales. This is appreciated in some
developed countries, and integrated strategies are beginning to emerge, but
there is an urgent need to interpret it for the circumstances of developing
countries where a joint approach could potentially have greatest benefit.
The implications of failing to act in this area are significant. The impacts of regional,
hemispheric and global air pollution will not be tackled without the development of
new policy options and new institutional processes. While, over time, the reductions
in pollution which have been seen in recent decades in western countries should
progressively emerge elsewhere, this will be a very long and costly process in terms
of health and sustainable development. It is important therefore to focus on ways to
speed that process and to find short cuts.
At the same time the failure to adapt such policies and processes to facilitate climate
change abatement, will miss major opportunities to reduce its long-term costs and
time scale.
Planned Activities and Outputs
Outputs from the programme will include:
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a report on options for managing air pollution, particularly at regional and
global scale, with assessments of the relative relevance of each option to
climate change mitigation and adaptation;
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recommendations of how the climate change and regional air pollution
communities can progressively work together in an integrated fashion;
-
an overview and assessment of recent work on interaction of climate change
and pollution with an accessible summary of the current state of understanding
and its implications for policy. This will include the implications of carbon
finance mechanisms for addressing air pollution in developing countries;
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an assessment of recent work on climate-pollution co-benefits and synergies
and recommendations on how the process of developing integrated strategies
at national, regional and urban scales can be addressed, particularly in the
circumstances of developing countries.
The key stage in securing these outputs will be a conference in late 2008 for about 60
leading representatives of the air pollution and climate communities, covering
science, policy and regulatory fields, and including the inter-governmental agencies
connected with the Forum. The conference will likely be held in Asia, although a
final location has yet to be determined.
While new papers will be commissioned from key experts on certain crucial issues
that have emerged in the current programme, most of the material before the meeting
will be reviews and assessments of the issues on the basis of work already undertaken
by the Forum and other bodies.
Annex 1 sets out:
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the outline structure of the conference programme;
some of the major research programmes and reports which will provide the
basis for opening assessments.
There will be a strong emphasis on bedding conclusions and recommendations into a
follow-up implementation process, built around the programmes of the main Forum
partners, notably UNEP, the Convention on Long-Range Transport of Air Pollution,
the various Regional Air Pollution Networks, and the regional Clean Air Initiatives.
While the report will deal in part with scientific and technical issues, it will also
examine where practical experience needs to be developed and the institutions and
work areas which need to be brought together if the necessary convergence of global
air pollution and climate change policies is to be secured.
ANNEX 1
CONFERENCE STRUCTURE AND SOURCES
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(1)
Conference Structure and Issues
Theme 1: Towards Optimised Integrated Strategies for Air Pollution and
Climate Change
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Implications of the common sources of pollution and greenhouse gases
Atmospheric interactions of pollutants and climate change processes – what
influences what
What strategies would optimise pollution abatement and climate mitigation –
and how do we deliver them?
Theme 2: Potential Regional, Hemispheric and Global Frameworks for
Managing Air Pollution and Their Relevance to the Interaction with the Climate
Change Community
-
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Overview of evolution of regional systems to address air pollution
what has succeeded, and what has failed, and why?
Some case studies of regional and global cooperation: Montreal Protocol,
POPs Convention, Kyoto Protocol, Regional air pollution regulation in the
UNECE region
Models and strategies for strengthening air pollution management at regional,
hemispheric and global scales and their comparative advantages with respect
to interaction with the climate change community.
Theme 3
Delivering Co-benefits at Urban, National and Regional Scale in
Developing Regions
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(ii)
Review of work so far on identification of synergies and co-benefits between
air pollution abatement and climate change mitigation;
What work is available specifically of the issue for developing countries?
How far are conclusions from more developed countries transferable?
How can optimized strategies be best promoted at regional, national and urban
scales and what will they potentially deliver?
What role can international air pollution regulatory systems play in developing
and implementing such approach?
Opportunities for regional and potentially hemispheric systems to begin to
deliver on these opportunities; and
The role of carbon finance in reducing air pollution.
Sources
RELEVANT CURRENT WORK ON WHICH THE PROGRAMME WILL
DRAW
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The project will draw on experts from throughout the world, particularly those
involved with projects that are designed to promote the co-benefits of air pollution
and climate change control. Those will include, but not be limited to, the following
programmes and projects.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a program called
Integrated Environmental Strategies (IES), which is designed to engage
developing countries to build support for integrated planning to address air
pollution and other local environmental concerns and also reduce associated
global greenhouse gas emissions. The program provides tools and approaches
to help analyze selected mitigation strategies and quantify environmental,
public health, and economic co-benefits of various approaches. It makes
recommendations to help inform policy decisions. To date, government
agencies and research institutions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India,
Mexico, the Philippines and South Korea have participated in the IES
program.

GAINS (Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies)-Asia,
a major project examining co-benefits approaches in China and India, has
following research objectives:
o Developing a practical policy analysis framework for a comprehensive
assessment of the costs and benefits of technological and market-based
measures for controlling air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The framework will embed the analysis of medium-term emission
reduction potentials and costs at national scales into global long-term
assessments of greenhouse gas stabilization strategies and explore their
site-specific and near-term benefits on a range of air pollution impacts.
o Bringing together, for use in this policy analysis framework,
established state-of-the-art models dealing with the most important
aspects that are relevant for a joint policy analysis of greenhouse gas
mitigation and air pollution control measures and their benefits.
o Implementing the assessment framework with real-world data for
individual countries for Europe, all provinces in China, all states in
India, and in aggregated form for the remainder of the world.
o Producing an initial policy assessment of joint air pollution and climate
change policies, identifying the scope for cost-effective measures both
in the EU and in two important developing countries (China and India)
up to 2030.

In 2006 the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) initiated a partnership with the
Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, an association of large cities
dedicated to tackling climate change. The CCI is designed to target emissions
from urban areas, which are responsible for the majority all greenhouse gas
emissions in the world, and intended to assist the large cities in the group in
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency. The CCI
is intended to engage the largest cities in the world and allow them to be
leaders for all cities by making the direct benefits from the purchasing
consortium, technical assistance, and measurement and communication tools
available to other cities throughout the world.
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To enable participating cities to reduce energy use and green house gas
emissions, the CCI:
1. Creates a purchasing consortium that will pool the purchasing power of the
cities to lower the prices of energy saving products and accelerate the
development and deployment of new energy saving and greenhouse gasreducing technologies and products.
2. Mobilizes experts to provide technical assistance to cities to develop and
implement plans that will result in greater energy efficiency and lower
greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Creates and deploys common measurement tools and internet-based
communications systems to allow cities to establish a baseline on their
greenhouse gas emissions, measure the effectiveness of the program in
reducing these emissions and to share what works and does not work with
each other.

Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), an international association of
local governments dedicated to fostering a sustainable world and a partner of
the Clinton Climate Initiative and the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
has developed online software called Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool
(HEAT). This software is designed to support local governments in planning
for greenhouse gas and air pollution emission reductions. It is also intended to
help build emissions inventories based on local energy use, transportation
demand, and waste practices; set targets for reducing emissions; quantify
reductions and their co-benefits; and track progress. Developed with the
support of the US Agency for International Development, HEAT is initially
being prepared for Brazil, India, Indonesia and South Africa.

The National Association of Clean Air Agencies, representing state and local
air pollution agencies in the U.S. has developed a “Clean Air and Climate
Protection Software (CACPS) – a software tool designed to expand the
capabilities of states and localities to analyze the benefits of various air
pollution control scenarios and select and implement those that not only
address traditional air pollutants, such as ozone precursors like nitrogen oxides
and volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and
particulate matter, but also greenhouse gases. CACPS can help state and local
officials:
o Create an inventory and forecast emissions of criteria air pollutants –
nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic
compounds and coarse particulate matter – and GHGs.
o Evaluate policies to reduce emissions of these pollutants.
o Prepare emission reduction action plans.

The Air Resources Board (ARB) in the state of California is developing a
policy document on “Proposed Early Actions to Mitigate Climate Change in
California in support of the state’s Assembly Bill 32, the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006.” As part of this effort, the ARB is
identifying strategies that can be developed relatively quickly and produce
significant greenhouse gas reductions. In the draft document, ARB staff has
identified 10 conventional air pollution control measures that are scheduled for
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rulemaking in the 2007-2009 period. According to the draft, “these control
measures are aimed at criteria and toxic air pollutants, but will have
concurrent climate co-benefits through reductions in CO2 or non-Kyoto
pollutants (i.e., diesel particulate matter, other light-absorbing compounds
and/or ozone precursors) that contribute to global warming.”

In March 2007 the Air Quality Expert Group in the UK published Air Quality
and Climate Change: a UK Perspective. Among other things, the report
includes a detailed discussion of mitigation measures that can be used to
address both climate and air quality issues. The report discusses “win-win”
approaches and tradeoffs, and targets measures for a number of sectors,
including energy, transport, agriculture and land use and others, including
waste incineration.

In October 2006 the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a
report to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom, was
released. The review concluded that climate change could have very serious
impacts on growth and development, and that the costs of stabilizing the
climate are expensive, but manageable. Chapter 12 of the report discusses the
links between climate change policy, energy policy and air policy control
policy. The report states that measures to reduce energy use and to reduce the
carbon intensity of energy generation can have benefits for local air quality.
For example, switching from fossil fuels to renewables, or from coal to gas,
can significantly the levels of air pollution resulting from fossil fuel burning.

The European Commission, through the European Environment Agency and
the Institute of Environment and Sustainability have issued a variety of reports
examining the linkages in impacts, but also the linkages in emissions and
control options, policy practices and opportunities between greenhouse gases
and conventional air pollutants. They also are involved in supporting a
number of programmes. For example, the European Commission is
sponsoring a partnership programme targeted at air pollution in Bangkok,
Thailand; Jarkarta, Indonesia; Jinan, People’s Republic of China; and
Bangalore, India. The programme is called the CDM & Urban Air Pollution
Partnership, or CURB-Air of the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands.
It is designed to target the sectoral overlap between sources of air pollution
and sources of carbon dioxide. CURB-AIR is focused on identifying local
projects through literature and case studies, multi-level government capacity
building, and disseminating results to other cities in the region.

In 2005 the Ishikawa International Cooperation Research Centre published
Addressing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Pan-Japan
Sea Region, which provides an overview and analysis of some of the
economic instruments used to address air pollution and greenhouse gases in
the Pan-Japan Sea region, with references to the experiences of the United
States and some European Union countries.
o The Simple Interactive Model for Better Air Quality (SIM-air) software
developed by the World Bank includes co-benefits calculations for urban
centres, calculating the costs and benefits of mitigation measures.
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