High-level policy seminar in Bangladesh addresses short-lived climate forcers
Press release – October 18, 2011
The event in Dhaka, hosted by the Bangladesh Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Swedish Ministry of Environment and co-organized by the Stockholm Environment Institute, focuses on how black carbon and other short-lived climate forcers can be reduced to improve air quality and achieve near-term climate benefits. A press briefing is being held today at the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka, at noon Bangladesh time (8 a.m. CET).
The Governments of Sweden and Bangladesh are bringing together roughly 90 experts and policymakers from around the world for a high-level policy seminar on October 17 and 18. They will discuss and share experiences and practices to promote strategic action on short-lived climate forcers at the national and international scales, with a special focus on South Asia. Lena Ek, the newly appointed Swedish Minister for the Environment, and Hasan Mahmud, Minister of Environment and Forests for Bangladesh, will both speak at the event.
The seminar builds on the findings of a major report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in June that found that complementary action to curb black carbon or “soot”, ground-level ozone and methane could significantly reduce climate risks associated with the loss of Arctic sea ice; improve agricultural yields; and prevent close to 2.5 million premature deaths per year worldwide by 2030 – a large share of them in Asia.
SEI was the scientific coordinator for that report, Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone, which entailed a comprehensive evaluation of the scientific research on so-called “short-lived climate forcers”. Given the potential benefits of tackling these pollutants, there is now a sense of urgency to turn those insights into policies and action plans.
SEI is now part of a follow-up project sponsored by UNEP, a report to be titled Near-term Climate Protection and Clean Air Benefits: Actions for Controlling Short-Lived Climate Forcers. That report will set out a strategy for reducing short-lived climate forcers through appropriate policies at the national, regional and global levels, largely building on existing instruments and institutions. The project is meant to raise awareness among decision-makers and stakeholders about the substantive opportunities available to them. The meeting in Dhaka will expand this discussion and look more specifically at strategies for South Asia.
“There is now a great opportunity to realize multiple benefits for health, crop yields, global and regional climate change and for development in general across South Asia,” says Dr Johan Kuylenstierna, director of SEI at the University of York and scientific coordinator of the UNEP-WMO report. “This can be achieved by developing integrated policy to promote a number of widely available measures to reduce short-lived climate forcers.”
Along with Ek, Mahmud and Kuylenstierna, speakers at the seminar will include Joe Alcamo, Chief Scientist at UNEP; Zbigniew Klimont, of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis; and V. Ramanathan, of the University of California–San Diego (via video-link). A full programme of the event is available online.
For further information, please contact:
Ylva Rylander – Press and Communications Adviser, Stockholm Environment Institute (European media)
ylva.rylander@sei-international.org +46 73 150 33 84
Marion Davis – Communications Manager, SEI Reducing Climate Risk theme (other countries)
marion.davis@sei-international.org +1 617 245 0895
Caroline Dickson – Swedish Ministry of the Environment
caroline.dickson@environment.ministry.se +46 70 695 21 16
Stockholm Environment Institute is an independent international research institute. The institute has established a reputation for rigorous and objective scientific analysis in the field of environment and development. SEI aims to bring about change for sustainable development by bridging science and policy. www.sei-international.org
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