Support for the Arctic Council Task Force on Short-lived Climate Forcers
Report cover designed by Abt Global. Photo credit: Dr. Bonnie Light, University of Washington
The Arctic Council is an intergovernmental forum created to facilitate coordination among the Arctic stakeholders on common issues, including environmental protection. In 2009, the Arctic Council noted the significant impacts of short-lived climate forcers – especially black carbon, methane, and tropospheric ozone – on Arctic climate. Recognizing the threat posed by these pollutants, the council created a Task Force on Short-lived Climate Forcers and charted it with identifying existing and new emissions mitigation measures and recommending actions to implement them.
The task force delivered its first report, which was focused on black carbon, in 2011. In 2013, the task force produced its second report, which provided new information on methane and tropospheric ozone and additional information on black carbon.
Abt Global assisted in the production of the 2013 report, Recommendations to Reduce Black Carbon and Methane Emissions to Slow Arctic Climate Change. Working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – one of the task force’s co-chair organizations – Abt’s technical writers and editors coordinated the integration of data and analysis from disparate sources to produce a clear and compelling report; our graphic designers and document production specialists developed a customized format for the report that gave it a high-quality appearance and cohesiveness. The final report included a technical reference document and a summary for policy makers (in English and Russian).
The recommendations from that report support ongoing efforts by the Arctic Council Task Force on Black Carbon and Methane and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program to evaluate opportunities to address black carbon and methane impacts on Arctic climate.
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