The world's forests influence climate through physical, chemical, and biological processes that affect planetary energetics, the hydrologic cycle, and atmospheric composition. These complex and nonlinear forest-atmosphere interactions can dampen or amplify anthropogenic climate change. Tropical, temperate, and boreal reforestation and afforestation attenuate global warming through carbon sequestration. Biogeophysical feedbacks can enhance or diminish this negative climate forcing. Tropical forests mitigate warming through evaporative cooling, but the low albedo of boreal forests is a positive climate forcing. The evaporative effect of temperate forests is unclear. The net climate forcing from these and other processes is not known. Forests are under tremendous pressure from global change. Interdisciplinary science that integrates knowledge of the many interacting climate services of forests with the impacts of global change is necessary to identify and understand as yet unexplored feedbacks in the Earth system and the potential of forests to mitigate climate change.

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Forests and Climate Change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests

By comparing the ozone depletion potential-weighted anthropogenic emissions of N2O with those of other ozone-depleting substances, we show that N2O emission currently is the single most important ozone-depleting emission and is expected to remain the largest throughout the 21st century. N2O is unregulated by the Montreal Protocol. Limiting future N2O emissions would enhance the recovery of the ozone layer from its depleted state and would also reduce the anthropogenic forcing of the climate system, representing a win-win for both ozone and climate.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/326/5949/123.full.pdf

Nitrous Oxide (N2O): The Dominant Ozone-Depleting Substance Emitted in the 21st Century

Nitrous oxide (N_2O) : the dominanat ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21st century

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(09)60935-1.pdf

Managing the health effects of climate change

As renewed international efforts are needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the livestock sector can contribute its part. An important emitter of greenhouse gas, it also has the potential to significantly reduce its emissions. This report provides a unique global assessment of the magnitude, the sources and pathways of emissions from different livestock production systems and supply chains. Relying on life cycle assessment, statistical analysis and scenario building, it also provides estimates of the sector’s mitigation potential and identifies concrete options to reduce emissions. The report is a useful resource for stakeholders from livestock producers to policy-makers, researchers and civil society representatives, which also intends to inform the public debate on the role of livestock supply chains in climate change and possible solution.

Tackling climate change through livestock : a global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities

Drafting authors: Terry Barker, Igor Bashmakov, Lenny Bernstein, Jean Bogner, Peter Bosch, Rutu Dave, Ogunlade Davidson, Brian Fisher, Michael Grubb, Sujata Gupta, Kirsten Halsnaes, BertJan Heij, Suzana Kahn Ribeiro, Shigeki Kobayashi, Mark Levine, Daniel Martino, Omar Masera Cerutti, Bert Metz, Leo Meyer, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Adil Najam, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Hans Holger Rogner, Joyashree Roy, Jayant Sathaye, Robert Schock, Priyaradshi Shukla, Ralph Sims, Pete Smith, Rob Swart, Dennis Tirpak, Diana Urge-Vorsatz, Zhou Dadi

Climate change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers.

P. R. Bosch

Papers

Climate change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers.