We’ve written here, here, and here before how black carbon and other particulate matters emitted during the incomplete combustion of wood were an obvious target for mitigating climate change.
The good news is that the science behind this seems to be gaining traction. The Guardian newspaper recently quoted a study suggesting that “soot from burned wood and diesel exhausts may have twice the impact on global warming as previously thought.”
And although dirty diesel engines and slash and burn land-clearing tactics are bigger sources of black carbon emissions, the paper states that “in Asia and Africa, wood burning domestic fires make up 60% to 80% of soot emissions.”
Check out this really neat animation of black carbon wafting over the globe and settling over northern India.
“Soot warms the atmosphere by absorbing incoming and scattered heat from the Sun. It also promotes the formation of clouds, and generates further warming by dimming the reflective surface of snow and ice. The study, which involved 31 leading experts from around the world, reviewed all the available data on the impact of soot on climate.”
The news comes almost a year after outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the formation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, a coalition of nations to curb climate change and reduce air pollution by reducing short-lived pollutants.
Read the full story on the Guardian’s website.
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