Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Workgroup
Introduction
Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) are Greenhouse Gases (GHG) that have relatively short atmospheric lifetimes, a few years to decades, and have strong global warming potential (GWP). Accomplishing swift reductions of SLCP emissions is a climate change mitigation strategy that can have a significant impact on the overall emission inventory and on cumulative climate change impacts over the long term. Senate Bill (SB) 605 (Chapter 532, Statutes of 2014), passed through the California legislature and signed by Governor Brown, requires that the State of California take additional actions to inventory and reduce short-lived climate pollutant emissions. SB 605 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and other state agencies to engage industry stakeholders to identify strategies to reduce emissions of SLCPs. SB 605 also refers to the need to identify data gaps, barriers to reducing SLCPs, asks that stakeholders determine new or alternative opportunities to reduce SLCPs and to identify the co-benefits of the reduction opportunities 1.
In order to engage the agricultural community regarding reducing SLCPs, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) assembled a workgroup of technical experts and agricultural representatives to identify any and all strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions from California agriculture; particularly methane.
The group's objectives included:
- Discuss sources of SLCPs from California agriculture, identify and evaluate practical strategies to reduce emissions
- Identify the barriers and challenges of implementing strategies and practices to reduce SLCPs
- Identify the environmental, agronomic, and economic co-benefits of the identified strategies
- Identify any negative impacts or unintended consequences of each strategy
- Outline the research needs for reducing methane emissions from California agriculture
Recommendations
In June 2015 the Workgroup submitted a recommendation report to provide input to the California Air Resource Board's Short-lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Plan: Recommendations for Short-lived Climate Pollutants: An Agricultural Workgroup Report for the California Air Resources Board and California Department of Food and Agriculture .
1 http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0601-0650/sb_605_bill_20140921_chaptered.htm
Resources
Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy Development
The California Air Resources Board is in the process of developing a plan to reduce SLCPs in California. Stay informed of the process and opportunities to participate by referring to ARB's webpage.