article thumbnail

Study finds global emissions of several banned ozone-destroying CFCs are increasing

Green Car Congress

New analysis has found increasing emissions of several ozone-depleting chemicals despite their production being banned for most uses under the Montreal Protocol—and a loophole in the rules is likely responsible. According to the researchers, emissions from these CFCs currently do not significantly threaten ozone recovery.

Ozone 353
article thumbnail

Studies find global COVID-19 lockdowns have significantly reduced PM2.5 and NO2 pollution, but ozone up

Green Car Congress

Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. Ozone is harmful to humans at ground-level, causing pulmonary and heart disease. —Guy Brasseur.

Ozone 291
article thumbnail

Global study links daily exposure to ozone pollution to increased risk of death

Green Car Congress

Daily exposure to ground level ozone in cities worldwide is associated with an increased risk of death, according to the largest study of its kind, published in an open-access paper in The BMJ. Ground level ozone is a highly reactive gas commonly found in urban and suburban environments, formed when pollutants react in sunlight.

Ozone 243
article thumbnail

UCL-led study finds climate impact caused by growing space industry needs urgent mitigation

Green Car Congress

The rapidly growing space industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry and undo repair to the protective ozone layer if left unregulated, according to a new study led by UCL and published in the journal Earth’s Future as an open-access paper. The space industry is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors.

Climate 428
article thumbnail

Latest GHG Inventory shows California remains below 2020 emissions target; much steeper rate of GHG reductions required

Green Car Congress

California’s latest greenhouse gas data shows that while the state continues to stay below its 2020 target for emissions, there is much more work to do to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. California statewide GHG emissions dropped below the 2020 GHG Limit in 2016 and have remained below the 2020 GHG Limit since then.

2020 221
article thumbnail

Study: 2/3 of aviation climate impact due to emissions other than CO2

Green Car Congress

Net warming from NO x emissions is a sum over warming (short-term ozone increase) and cooling (decreases in methane and stratospheric water vapor, and a long-term decrease in ozone) terms. These contributions involve a large number of chemical, microphysical, transport and, radiative processes in the global atmosphere.

Climate 448
article thumbnail

UCI-led study finds California’s strict air quality regulations have helped farmers

Green Car Congress

They found that reductions in ground ozone during this 35-year period resulted in $600 million in increased production annually by the early 2010s. These aren’t the things that are providing the global population with its main source of calories. An open-access paper on the work appears in Nature Food. —Steven Davis.

Ozone 186