Mitigation of Arctic warming by controlling European black carbon emissions (MACEB)

START YEAR: 2011     END YEAR: 2013
COORDINATING BENEFICIARY: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)
CONTACT AT FMI: Heikki Lihavainen     FUNDING: EU LIFE+
PARTNERS: Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI, coordinator),University of Helsinki (UHEL), Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

The mitigation of climate change caused by global warming is the most important environmental challenge for the moment. To find right solutions it is crucial to learn more about the potential and possibilities to slow down global warming in different regions.

Project objectives

• To demonstrate the approach to mitigate warming of Arctic climate by black carbon (BC) emissions reduction at mid latitudes, especially in Europe.
• To assess the impact of the current air quality and climate relevant legislation in the northern hemisphere on BC emissions, their transport to the Arctic, and eventually Arctic warming.
• To transfer action procedures and experiences to assess and mitigate BC emissions from most important source sectors, e.g. small-scale wood burning.

Methods/models

• Emission data from both global (GAINS) and national (Finland, FRES) emission models
• Global (ECHAM5-HAM) and regional (REMO) atmospheric climate models
• Measurements of BC concentrations in surface air and snow