Announcing the March 3-4, 2010 Workshop on Addressing Black Carbon and Ozone as Short-Lived Climate Forcers hosted by U.S. EPA in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Workshop Summary

Workshop Goals:

1. Assess the importance of addressing black carbon and ozone as short-lived climate forcers, including consideration of the public health co-benefits
2. Identify opportunities and obstacles to reducing these pollutants in light of the state of scientific understanding and available policy options

Key Tasks of the Workshop:

• Summarize the state-of-the-science on the role of ozone and black carbon in global climate change and highlight policy-relevant scientific certainties/gaps relevant to mitigation efforts
• Clarify the potential public health and climate co-benefits of mitigating black carbon and ozone precursors (including NOx, methane, VOCs, and CO) by:
• Evaluating the impact of existing regulations and policies, including those targeting ozone and black carbon/PM for public health purposes
• Assessing the pros and cons of pursuing additional domestic and international mitigation actions for short-lived climate forcers
• Enhance collaboration between air quality and climate policymakers and domestic and international scientists working on short-lived climate forcers

Who Should Attend?
Science and policy experts in government, academia, industry, and civil society. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, or for more information, please contact Erika Sasser at 919-541-3889 or sasser.erika@epa.gov.

Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution
The TF HTAP held its workshop at the Carolina Inn earlier in the week on March 1-2, 2010. The workshop focused on reviewing the draft of HTAP 2010.  For more information about that workshop, please visit http://www.htap.org/.