Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects - Ricerca sull'intelligenza artificiale specializzata al MIT

Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects
Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Black Smoke in China and Its
Climate Effects*

David G. Streets
Decision and Information
Sciences Division, DIS/900
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 South Cass Avenue
Argonne, IL 60439
USA
dstreets@anl.gov

Astratto
The emission of fine carbonaceous particles in China is a serious
threat to human health, ecological systems, and regional and global
climate regimes. China is thought to release about 20 percent of
the global black carbon through the combustion of coal and
biofuels without adequate particle controls. The household and
industrial sectors are mainly responsible, but the country’s grow-
ing transportation sector is a concern for the future. The eco-
nomic cost of damage from black carbon likely exceeds the cost
of controlling emissions by several fold, but as yet such costs have
not been quantified.

1. introduzione

Black smoke is apparent to any visitor to China. Small in-
dustrial chimneys dot the landscape, many of them emit-
ting dark-colored plumes of smoke. The sources of this
smoke are usually coal-ªred ovens, kilns, or small boilers
that fuel what are often little more than family enterprises.
Rural villages are bathed in a silvery mist caused by
smoke from cooking and heating over coal, legna, or crop-
waste ªres in homes. Vehicles often release visible tailpipe
emissions. Farmers burn the crop residues in the ªelds af-
ter harvest or in preparation for new planting. These indi-
vidual sources combine to produce a regional haze that
lingers over the countryside and cities. This pollution
causes economic, ecological, and human health damage,

* This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Asian Eco-
nomic Panel meeting at Columbia University on 7–8 October
2004. The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the
Asian Economic Panel and The Earth Institute at Columbia Uni-
versity for the preparation of this paper.

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

all largely unquantiªed, and poses several questions: What is this material? Che cosa
kinds of hazards does it cause? What can be done about it? This paper examines the
important but little-appreciated problem of black smoke in China; in particular, IL
sources and measurement of such emissions, the likely effects on global and re-
gional climate, and implications for air pollution and global warming policy. Study
of these issues reveals surprising opportunities for making large improvements in
several important areas.

The active ingredient in this black smoke and grayish-brown haze is the aerosol
known as black carbon (BC). It is similar to elemental carbon but may have other
chemicals combined with it. Most BC particles are less than 1 (cid:1)M (10(cid:2)6 meter) in di-
ameter. Because the particles are small, they have a long atmospheric residence time,
ranging from a few days to several weeks (Cooke and Wilson 1996; Liousse et al.
1996), and may therefore spread hundreds to thousands of kilometers before they
fall back to earth. BC is thought to be the anthropogenic aerosol component that
contributes the most to the absorption of solar radiation (Penner, Eddleman, E
Novakov 1993; Cooke and Wilson 1996; Liousse et al. 1996). In this respect, it is no
different from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.

BC also causes other, more immediately evident, problems. Qiu and Yang (2000)
have shown that BC contributes to the marked degradation of visibility in northern
China. Chameides et al. (1999) demonstrated that crop yields in China are lowered
by 30 percent because of reduced solar radiation reaching the earth. Fine particles
may coat building materials, damaging the appearance of homes, public buildings,
and historic landmarks (Hamilton and Mansªeld 1991). These very small particles
can penetrate deeply into the lungs, where they may slow clearance mechanisms
and provide absorption sites for toxic pollutants (Hamilton and Mansªeld 1991). Essere-
cause the majority of BC emissions originate in the residential sector, where expo-
sure levels are high as a result of the poor ventilation in most homes and kitchens in
China, the negative effects of inhalation of BC on public health are important. In
summary, emissions of black smoke are of concern at the household, regional, E
global level.

Until a few years ago, aerosols such as BC languished in the shadows of atmo-
spheric research. We did not fully understand their roles in atmospheric chemistry
or in the scattering and absorption of radiation. Aerosols were difªcult to measure
in the ªeld and in the laboratory, difªcult to model, and had complex chemical and
physical characteristics. BC emissions were relevant to pollution policy only insofar
as they contributed to the amount of ªne particles in general. The regulation of
inhalable particulate matter (PM) in the developed world signaled that high local

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

concentrations in cities were a public health concern. As research on the impacts of
airborne PM on public health progressed, the effects of submicron particles such as
BC were increasingly understood to be important.

The importance of aerosols on a regional scale gradually became understood. Noi
learned that aerosols play important roles in regional air quality because they con-
tribute to haze, impaired visibility, and reduced insolation. The importance of aero-
sols on a global scale was soon recognized, when further research showed that they
play a signiªcant role in climate modiªcation (Penner, Hegg, and Leaitch 2001).
Within the past several years, the importance of BC as a factor in global climate
change has come to the forefront. Work by Hansen, Jacobson, and others shows that
BC is perhaps the second-most-important contributor to global warming, after CO2.
This understanding is beginning to have profound reverberations in both the policy
arena and the world of research planning. BC poses an array of problems not previ-
ously faced in air pollution control regimes; Tuttavia, it is difªcult to measure accu-
rately, a large proportion of global BC emissions arises from unmonitored biomass
burning, and the fuel-derived sources are unconventional, in the sense that they are
largely domestic stoves and small industrial plants. Finalmente, the largest BC-emitting
country in the world is China.

Acknowledging the major role of China in BC production is the ªrst step, but bal-
ancing the economic, health, and other issues involved in tackling the problem is far
from easy. Nevertheless, the control of BC offers major opportunities to attack si-
multaneously (1) health effects at the local level, (2) ecosystem damage at the re-
gional level, E (3) climate change at a regional and global level. Inoltre, IL
costs of reducing BC emissions are considerably less than those related to control-
ling greenhouse gases such as CO2. This multipronged weapon is therefore intrigu-
ing for policymakers.

2. Sources of black smoke

BC is released during the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuels. It is impor-
tant to note that the terms used to classify carbonaceous aerosols can vary with the
measurement method (see “Measurement uncertainties,” below). Because the pri-
mary interest in BC at present centers on its ability to absorb solar radiation, it is
usual to deªne BC as the mass of elemental carbon (EC) that absorbs the same
amount of light as the emitted particles, though carbon that absorbs light may not
be black and its molecular form may differ from that of EC (Bond 2001). A related
aerosol is organic carbon (OC), in which the carbon is in more complex molecular
forme. This paper does not address OC.

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Emissions of BC are difªcult to determine under the best of circumstances because
of difªculties in estimating the fraction of total PM that is EC of less than 1 (cid:1)m in di-
ameter. This fraction is very sensitive to fuel type and combustion conditions, neces-
sitating a detailed treatment of emission factors by fuel, sector, and degree of emis-
sion control. Uncertainty about BC emission levels is particularly high for coal
combustion because larger particles, organic compounds, and mineral ash can con-
found measurements of very small particulates. Such problems are compounded
when dealing with developing countries, where no statistics are available on the
types and prevalence of combustors and the kinds and performance of devices that
control particulates.

Early research suggested that China generates a sizeable proportion of global BC
emissions as a result of the widespread and uncontrolled burning of coal. To get a
better perspective on BC emissions in China, Streets et al. (2001UN) conducted a de-
tailed investigation of BC sources, part of which consisted of a thorough review and
assessment of studies by combustion experts on ªne particle emissions. In this way,
a robust set of emission factors was developed for different source types, integrated
with measurements of particle emission factors and appropriate submicron and car-
bonaceous fractions. Streets et al. (2001UN) found that the residential burning of coal
yielded a midrange estimate for the BC emission factor of 3.7 g/kg of coal, con un
high estimate of 20 g/kg. Residential biofuel burning was estimated to be 1.0 g/kg.
Field combustion of agricultural residues is in the range of 0.5–0.9 g/kg. In contrasto,
the emission factor for a conventional coal-ªred power plant using an electrostatic
precipitator (ESP) is only 0.0001 g/kg. This is because the very high temperatures
and efªcient air circulation in large boilers readily oxidize any ªne carbon particles
leaving the combustion zone; così, it is primarily mineral matter that escapes, and it
is either captured in the particulate control device or passes through into the atmo-
sphere. The estimated emission factor for heavy fuel oil in China is 0.36 g/kg and
that for diesel vehicles is 1.1 g/kg. These new values suggested a signiªcantly dif-
ferent pattern of source contributions than that of previous work.

The China inventory was extended to a global inventory for 1996 (Bond et al. 2004),
which revealed the contribution of China to global emissions (table 1). The total
amount of global BC emissions according to this new inventory is 7.95 Tg (1 tera-
gram [Tg] (cid:3) 1 million metric tons). China contributes about 18.7 percent of the total
BC emissions. The developing regions of Africa and South America are also impor-
tant contributors. The developed regions of the world (per esempio., North America, Europe,
and Japan), Tuttavia, are less signiªcant contributors to BC emissions than they are
to CO2 emissions. Così, China dominates BC emissions, whereas the United States

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Tavolo 1. Contributions from various countries to global CO2 and BC emissions

United
States

5,576
20.7
0.41
5.2

CO2 (Tg)
CO2 (%)
BC (Tg)
BC (%)

Mexico

Germany

397
1.5
0.08
1.0

983
3.6
0.05
0.6

United
Kingdom

596
2.2
0.04
0.5

Sources: Chameides and Bergin (2002); BC emissions from Bond et al. (2004).

Note: Tg

1 teragram 1 million metric tons.

Japan

China

India

Globale

1,285
4.8
0.15
1.9

3,749
13.9
1.49
18.7

991
3.7
0.58
7.3

26,939
100.0
7.95
100.0

dominates CO2 emissions, which begins to point toward an opportunity for joint ac-
zione. (I expand upon this issue at the end of the paper.)

Estimates of BC emissions in China by source type are summarized in table 2. Esti-
mates have been made for 1995, and emission levels have been projected for 2020.
The emission estimates reveal signiªcant sectoral differences (per esempio., residential and
agricultural contributions) that set BC apart from sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen
oxides (NOx), the traditional anthropogenic pollutants that mainly originate from
the industrial and power generation sectors. E, although vehicle pollution is an
important source of NOx and hydrocarbon pollution in other parts of the world, IL
role of vehicles in the deterioration of air quality in China is still relatively small. If
the number of diesel trucks were to grow rapidly in China in the future, this would
likely cause serious increases in ªne particles and BC. Efªcient tailpipe controls will
be required to prevent a large increase in emissions.

2.1 Power generation
Particulate emission levels from power generation are low because combustion con-
ditions in power plants (predominantly pulverized-coal burners) tend to burn out
any BC that is formed. Inoltre, all new power plants and many large, old
power plants in China use ESPs to collect PM. In 1983, only 25 generating units were
equipped with ESPs, but by 1991 this had increased to 236 units, e da 1993 IL
number had grown to 316 units (Zhai 1992; SSTC 1995). By 1995, there were 364 ESP
units, ªtted to approximately 50 percent of China’s total boiler capacity (Bo et al.
1999). On older, midsized, and small power generation units, wet particle scrubbers
are employed, together with some multicyclones and cyclones (inefªcient mechani-
cal devices that rely on a spinning motion to remove particles), which are gradually
being eliminated.

Energy consumption for power generation in China in 1995 from coal, oil, E
biofuels was 10.9 EJ (EJ (cid:3) exajoule (cid:3) 1018 joules), of which 10.1 EJ (92 per cento) era

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Tavolo 2. Summary of estimated energy use and BC emissions in China, by sector and
fuel type

Energy use (PJ)

BC emissions (Gg)

Sector

Residential

Industry

Power generation

Transportation: road

Transportation: other

Transportation: ships

Field combustion

All sources

Fuel

Coal
Oil
Biofuel
Subtotal

Gasoline
Diesel

Gasoline
Diesel
Coal

Diesel
Heavy fuel oil
Subtotal

Crop residue

Total

Fonte: Streets et al. (2001UN).

Note: n.a.

data are not available.

1995

3,872
432
7,939
12,243

13,171
2,040
600
15,811

10,080
731
89
10,900

1,208
508

100
764
234

138
87
3,039

n.a.

2020

4,848
2,088
6,016
12,952

18,257
2,513
482
21,252

18,054
607
226
18,887

4,047
2,798

139
1,644
277

328
308
9,541

n.a.

1995

605.4
1.0
512.0
1,118.4

82.5
11.1
3.6
97.2

1.5
6.1
0.7
8.3

2.3
13.3

0.2
20.0
3.2

3.6
0.8
43.4

74.7

2020

534.8
5.5
386.8
927.1

80.6
14.5
1.4
96.5

0.1
4.8
0.5
5.4

7.6
73.3

0.3
43.1
3.7

8.6
2.7
139.3

56.1

41,993

62,632

1,342.0

1,224.4

derived from coal (see table 2). IL 731 PJ (PJ (cid:3) petajoule (cid:3) 1015 joules) of oil com-
bustion are also important, Tuttavia, because this source has signiªcantly higher BC
emission factors. An energy projection for 2020 by Li (1999) shows coal combustion
rising to 18.1 EJ and oil combustion declining to 607 PJ. About 226 PJ of advanced
renewable energy (per esempio., biogas and waste combustion) are expected to be consumed
in China by 2020. After a detailed categorization of the different types of boilers and
emission-control devices (table 2), we estimate that BC emissions from power gener-
ation were 8.3 Gg in 1995. Most of these emissions (73 per cento) resulted from oil
combustion. Emissions from coal combustion are estimated to be only 1.5 Gg be-
cause of the effective use of particulate controls. We estimate that BC emissions from
power generation will decline to 5.4 Gg in 2020 as the power sector eliminates cy-
clone controls, reduces oil use, and transforms to a coal-based system that employs
high-efªciency ESP and fabric-ªlter controls.

2.2 Industrial fuel combustion
The complexity of the industrial sector in China, with respect to the variety of fuels,
combustors, and control devices in use, makes accurate estimation of BC emissions
very difªcult. Because of the greater attention paid to industrial combustion pro-

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

cesses and emission controls, Tuttavia, these facilities tend to have lower emissions
than do domestic devices. Total industrial energy use in 1995 from liquid and solid
fuels was 15.8 EJ, of which 13.2 EJ (83 per cento) were provided by coal. This is ex-
pected to rise to 21.3 EJ by 2020, with coal’s share rising to 18.3 EJ (86 per cento).
Streets et al. (2001UN) suggests that, by 2020, use of stoker-ªred industrial combustors
with no control devices or cyclones will decline and use of stokers with wet particle
scrubbers and pulverized-coal systems with advanced pollution controls such as
ESP will increase. At present, industrial BC emissions are primarily attributable to
uncontrolled coal-ªred kilns, ovens, and stoker-ªred boilers and from the produc-
tion and use of coke in the iron and steel industry. As shown in table 2, the total
coal-derived emissions in 1995 are estimated at 82.5 Gg (85 percent of the industrial
sector total of 97.2 Gg). Industrial BC emissions are projected to remain approxi-
mately unchanged from 1995 A 2020. A decline in the use of raw coal in uncon-
trolled or poorly controlled industrial boilers, kilns, and furnaces is expected to be
offset by an increase in oil use.

2.3 Residential sector
By far the largest contribution to BC emissions in China comes from the burning of
raw coal, coal briquettes, and biofuels in the residential sector. These fuels are
burned in small domestic stoves, cookers, and heaters without any emission con-
trols. Emission of ªne particles is greatly enhanced under these conditions. We esti-
mate that, In 1995, Chinese households consumed 241 PJ of coal briquettes and 3,630
PJ of raw coal (briquettes accounting for 6 percent of total domestic coal use). IL
use of briquettes was highest in Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, and Sichuan prov-
inces and in the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai. Briquettes are increasingly
being burned in the largest cities of China, and raw coal is being phased out or
banned. We have projected briquette use for 2020, assuming that 100 percent of coal
use in the largest cities is in the form of briquettes, 50 percent in towns, E 20 per-
cent in the countryside. This yields 2020 estimates of 1,996 PJ for briquettes and
2,851 PJ for raw coal, briquettes accounting for 41 percent of domestic coal use
(Streets et al. 2001UN).

In 1995, biofuels dominated China’s rural energy supply, whereas coal use was
widespread in urban residential areas. Overall, 7.9 EJ of biofuels and 3.9 EJ of coal
were used. By 2020, biofuel use is expected to decline to 6 EJ and coal use is pro-
jected to increase to 4.8 EJ. Even though coal is being replaced by natural gas in the
cities, coal is expected to supplant biofuels in many of the smaller towns in coal-
producing regions. Domestic coal combustion is the dominant source of BC in both
1995 E 2020, with emissions of 605 Gg and 535 Gg, rispettivamente. The increased use
of coal briquettes in urban areas is expected to reduce BC emissions by 2020. Al-

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

though the use of biofuels is declining in China, the high emission rates from this
source have resulted in BC emissions of 512 Gg in 1995, and emissions are estimated
to be approximately 387 Gg in 2020. Overall, the residential sector generated 1,118
Gg of BC in 1995 and is projected to generate 927 Gg in 2020. This represents 83 per-
cent and 76 per cento, rispettivamente, of total emissions. The key to the reduction of BC
emissions in China is the transformation of the domestic sector from one based on
the combustion of raw coal and biofuels in small cookers and heaters to one that in-
creasingly uses coal briquettes, liqueªed petroleum gas, natural gas, electricity, O
renewable energy sources.

2.4 Transportation sector
Emissions originating from the transportation sector were relatively low in 1995 (43
Gg), but they are expected to more than triple by 2020, A 139 Gg, as a result of a
large increase in motor vehicle ownership. By 2020, the transportation sector will ac-
count for 11 percent of total BC emissions. Vehicles fueled with gasoline have very
low PM emissions. No PM emission controls are employed on these vehicles, nor is
it expected that PM emission controls will be employed in future gasoline-powered
vehicles. Vehicles fueled with diesel fuels usually have high PM emissions. Nel
stati Uniti, new emission standards will probably require application of PM
emission controls to diesel vehicles. PM emissions from diesel vehicles, Tuttavia, are
still low relative to PM emissions from some stationary sources. It is not likely that
Chinese diesel vehicles will employ PM emission controls during the next 20 years,
in light of the lag of emission controls for Chinese motor vehicles relative to U.S.
motor vehicles. As existing units are replaced, Tuttavia, the number of vehicles with
high emissions due to engine failure or other reasons will gradually decrease. China
is clearly interested in increasing its use of diesel vehicles for reasons of energy
efªciency: the projections show an increase in energy for diesel vehicles from 1.3 EJ
In 1995 A 4.4 EJ in 2020. Tailpipe emissions of PM from diesel vehicles will be an im-
portant problem for human health in Chinese cities in the future.

2.5 Field combustion of crop residues
The burning of crop residues in the ªeld, as a means of disposal after harvesting or
before planting, is a common practice in China despite being ofªcially banned. IL
BC emissions from this source are signiªcant. Several assumptions have to be made
to estimate how much BC this type of combustion produces. Crop production statis-
tic, available by province and crop (FAO 1995), are combined with crop-to-residue
ratios (Lu 1993) to calculate available regional crop residues. Although other crop
residues may be burned in the ªelds, our emissions are calculated on the basis of
data for the three largest crops: rice, wheat, and corn. In Asia, approximately 80 per-
cent of crop residue is burned, including that used for domestic fuel (Crutzen and

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Andreae 1990). The residue burned in ªelds makes up approximately 23 percent of
the total residue produced. Although rice husks constitute the bulk of the residue
burned in ªelds, no data were found on precise quantities, so a ºat rate of 23 per cento
of available residue is applied to rice, wheat, and corn residues. On the assumption
that farmers will reduce their burning rate in the future under local environmental
pressures, our calculations yield estimates for BC emissions from ªeld combustion
Di 75 Gg in 1995, falling to 56 Gg in 2020.

3. Measurement uncertainties

A clear understanding of the role of BC in climate change requires an ability to
measure BC concentrations in the ambient atmosphere and predict BC concentra-
tions using emissions and simulation models. This ability is hindered by inherent
uncertainties in BC measurements. There are two fundamentally different ways to
measure BC in the atmosphere: thermal and optical. The thermal method analyzes
aerosol samples collected on quartz ªlters. The samples are heated, and the volatil-
ized carbon is collected and measured as a function of temperature. Residues re-
maining above a certain temperature are presumed to be elemental carbon, Anche se
they may be contaminated with organic compounds with low volatilities and high
molecular weights. Different thermal analysis equipment and operating techniques
have yielded results that differ by a factor of two or more. The optical method mea-
sures the aerosol absorption coefªcient and relates it to BC mass concentration. Op-
tical techniques are also subject to considerable uncertainty. This uncertainty associ-
ated with thermal and optical measurements has obscured the job of using models
to simulate BC concentrations. The need for a standardized BC measurement
method is clear.

Experience with global modeling of BC seems to support this conclusion. A number
of research groups have simulated global BC concentrations with atmospheric mod-
els and compared them with observations at ground stations (Tegen et al. 2000;
Koch 2001; Chin et al. 2002; Jacobson 2002; Cooke, Ramaswamy, and Kasibhatla
2002). The AERONET database provides a network of 20 global sites with ªeld mea-
surements, against which one can compare emission concentrations calculated from
models. BC emissions are typically underpredicted, sometimes by a factor of two to
four, which suggests that emissions are actually higher than estimated by inventory
metodi. This is surprising, because global BC emissions used in the models (Cooke
and Wilson 1996) are already high (17–18 Tg/year, according to Chin et al. 2002). Re-
cent ªeld measurements of BC by use of aircraft-borne sampling equipment
(Dickerson et al. 2002; Clarke et al. 2004) have occasionally observed very high con-
centrations of BC, as much as four times higher than can be explained by models us-

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Figura 1. Schematic diagram of BC/OC information ºow, showing the possible source
inconsistency between models and observations

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ing present emission inventories (Streets et al. 2003). These measurements were con-
ducted off the coasts of India and China.

As ªgure 1 illustrates, the problem may be attributable to inconsistencies between
the laboratory measurement methods used to derive emission factors for combus-
tion processes and the measurement techniques used to derive observed BC concen-
trations during ªeld campaigns. It could also simply be a result of differences be-
tween thermal and optical techniques. Whatever the reason, it is clear that at present
there is no consensus within the research community about emissions, modeling,
and observations of BC. Therefore, more research is needed to better characterize BC
and coordinate the representations of BC among different parts of the research com-
munity. Policy steps should, Perciò, be formulated with caution until this has
been done.

4. Black smoke and climate policy

Although the climate effects of black smoke are exerted at both global and regional
levels, most of the work to date has focused on the global effects. When the Inter-

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its second assessment report
about climate change (IPCC 1996), the treatment of radiative forcing of aerosols was
rudimentary.1 Qualitatively, the role of aerosols in the absorption of solar radiation
was understood, but the magnitude of the forcing was unclear. In this 1996 report,
the impact of soot in aerosols from fossil fuel emissions was estimated at 0.1 watts
per square meter (W/m2), within a range of 0.03 A 0.3. A separate estimate for parti-
cles associated with biomass burning was included in the report, Tuttavia, E
some fraction of these particles would be BC. A clear estimate of radiative forcing by
particulate species was not attempted.

In the late 1990s, scientists began to realize that the physical form of BC particles in
the atmosphere could have a dramatic inºuence on their radiative properties. Per-
haps the most inºuential paper was by Jacobson (2001). On the basis of modeling
the effects of BC in different types of mixtures, Jacobson showed that when BC was
externally mixed with other aerosol particles its forcing could be as much as 0.62
W/m2. This value was much higher than the prevailing IPCC value at that time (0.1
W/m2). When he compared his BC values with the IPCC values of 0.47 W/m2 for
methane (CH4) E 1.56 Wm2 for CO2, Jacobson concluded that after CO2 (and sub-
ject to uncertainties) BC may be the second-most-important component of global
warming in terms of direct forcing.

James Hansen and colleagues took up the banner of BC in a famous paper (Hansen
et al. 2000). Assuming a radiative forcing of 0.5 W/m2 for BC, they advocated a
strategy of slowing global warming by reducing the emissions of primary aerosols
such as BC, as well as non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Hansen et al. further suggested
Quello, if the World Bank were to support investment in modern technology and air
quality control in India and China, the reductions in BC would not only improve lo-
cal health and agricultural productivity, but would also beneªt global air quality
and climate. In a follow-up paper (Hansen and Sato 2001), the authors redrew the
famous IPCC bar chart of climate forcings since preindustrial times (IPCC 1996,
2001) with an even higher value of 0.8 ((cid:4) 0.4) W/m2 for BC.

Hansen’s argument was criticized by some analysts (per esempio., Smith, Wigley, E
Edmonds 2000), who believed that it deºected attention away from CO2, Quale
Hansen never intended to do, and focused on short-term rather than long-term cli-
mate effects, which Hansen acknowledged. Infatti, as Andreae (2001) observed in

1 Radiative forcing is the perturbation to the energy balance of the earth-atmosphere system,
caused by a change in the concentration of an atmospheric gas or aerosol. A positive radia-
tive forcing means a warming of the earth’s surface, and a negative forcing means a cooling.

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

his review of Jacobson’s 2001 paper in Nature, the short lifetime of BC is a possible
advantage relative to the goal of rapid improvement of air quality: if we could
somehow stop emitting BC today, it would be gone from the atmosphere in a week
or two. Neither Hansen nor his critics fully appreciated the emission control impli-
cations of BC because they did not fully understand the contributions of various
sources to total BC emissions. Infatti, because a sizeable proportion of BC comes
from the residential sector in developing countries, it is quite possible to target these
sources preferentially. Such an environmental initiative would be fully consonant
with social and economic goals to alleviate poverty and reduce rural/urban inequal-
ities in China. One might liken the potential beneªts to the great strides achieved
through the rural electriªcation program in the United States in the 1930s.

The IPCC published its third assessment report in 2001 (IPCC 2001), emphasizing
the importance of aerosols in inºuencing the radiation budget of the earth. Substan-
tial progress was acknowledged in deªning the direct effects of different aerosols;
Tuttavia, fossil-fuel BC aerosol was assigned a forcing of only 0.2 W/m2, which was
not in line with the latest works of Jacobson and Hansen.

Both Jacobson and Hansen have continued to publish papers on the importance of
BC to global and regional climate modiªcation. Jacobson (2002) advocated control of
fossil-fuel BC (and organic matter) emissions as possibly the most effective method
of slowing global warming. His model predicted that 20–45 percent of net warming
could be eliminated within 3–5 years by eliminating all fossil-fuel BC and organic
matter. This period is much shorter than the time estimated to achieve such a slow-
down in global warming by achieving a similar percentage reduction in CO2 emis-
sions (50–200 years). Jacobson further suggested that diesel vehicles, though more
energy efªcient, might contribute more to warming than equivalent gasoline vehi-
cles because of their higher particle emissions.

The proªle of BC was further enhanced during this time by the results from the In-
dian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). Lelieveld et al. (2001) reported very high con-
centrations of aerosols containing substantial amounts of BC (as high as 17 per cento)
over the Indian Ocean. The higher the BC content in such aerosols, the more sun-
light is absorbed, which can lead to serious perturbations in the regional hydrologi-
cal cycle and climate. These results were subsequently generalized in a paper by
Ramanathan et al. (2001), in which carbonaceous aerosols were termed “a major
wild card.” They concluded that the effect of BC on local climates will depend on
subtle details of how the surface and the atmosphere are coupled together. IL
INDOEX ªndings then gave birth to the so-called Asian Brown Cloud phenomenon
(UNEP and C4 2002), which emerged in the popular press during 2002.

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Partly as an outgrowth of the INDOEX revelations and partly as a result of the new
BC forcing estimates, the National Aerosol-Climate Interactions Program (NACIP)
was developed in the United States to focus new research on aerosols and their in-
teractions with the climate system. Three federal agencies—NASA, NSF, and EPA—
sponsored a workshop and the preparation of a white paper by a NACIP scientiªc
steering committee. This report was formally released on 9 May 2002 and drew
three key conclusions:

• Aerosol effects on climate are the largest source of uncertainty in the current IPCC

estimates of the global climate forcing that is attributable to human activities.
• Recent observations that raise the possibility that aerosols have substantive im-
pacts on the regional climate in some parts of the world make the need for the
NACIP even more imperative.

• Our present understanding of aerosols is insufªcient to quantify their inºuence
on global and regional climate change. A substantial effort, with new research
based on ªeld observations (using regional aerosol observatories, exploratory air-
craft ºights, satellite instrumentation, and multiplatform ªeld campaigns), is re-
quired to achieve the necessary understanding.

The high proªle of this white paper and the support of three government agencies
made an impression on the Bush administration. The importance of aerosols was
further enhanced by the personal testimony of James Hansen to both the U.S. Senate
and the White House. Soon after taking ofªce, President George W. Bush repudiated
the Kyoto Protocol, and this policy stance was afªrmed in the Rose Garden speech
Di 11 Giugno 2001. Clearly inºuenced by aerosol advocacy, President Bush criticized
the Kyoto Protocol as ºawed because it failed to address two major pollutants that
have an impact on warming and are proven health hazards: black soot and tropo-
spheric ozone. He observed that reducing emissions of both species would not only
address climate change, but also dramatically improve people’s health. A skeptic
might have wondered whether this statement was truly a call for action on soot and
ozone or merely an excuse for inaction on CO2.

In the same speech, President Bush announced a new U.S. initiative on climate
change science and technology. This culminated in the release on 14 Febbraio 2002
of a new U.S. climate change strategy, which included, among other elements, a cli-
mate change research initiative (CCRI) under which the United States would spend
US$1.7 billion in FY2003 for basic research on climate change, US$40 million of
which would be dedicated to leverage other funding to address major gaps in our
understanding of the carbon cycle and the role of black soot. A speciªc priority for
FY2003 was to develop reliable representations of the global and regional climatic

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

forcing by atmospheric aerosols. CCRI investments would implement the NACIP
plan to deªne and evaluate the role of aerosols that absorb solar radiation, ad esempio
BC and mineral dust. Proposed activities would include ªeld campaigns (including
aircraft ºyovers), in situ monitoring stations, and development of improved model-
ing and satellite data algorithms. In this way, aerosols became a formal part of U.S.
policy planning and scientiªc research.

The commitment of the government was strengthened by congressional testimony
SU 10 Luglio 2002 by James Mahoney, the new Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Oceans and Atmosphere and Director of the Climate Change Science Program. UN
key avenue of future scientiªc inquiry was stated to be the relative importance of
carbon-based (BC) aerosols, sulfate-based aerosols, and CO2 and other greenhouse
gases in inºuencing climate change. Mahoney stressed that each of these species
was related to differing control strategies. This is an important point, because, non
only might different control strategies be needed for each species, but any control
strategy will potentially affect the emissions of many species. This is particularly
critical for strategies that would involve a reduction in coal use, which would re-
duce emissions of many climate-modifying species at the same time (per esempio., CO2,
SO2, BC, CH4, and hydrocarbons). The net effect can be perverse, as discussed in
section 5.

On 27 novembre 2002, John Marburger, director of the White House Ofªce of Sci-
ence and Technology, said at a news conference that the United States might put
more stress on controlling carbon soot as a speedy way to respond to global warm-
ing. Marburger used carbon soot as an example of how the United States could take
action while still reªning its overall plan on climate change. Although it could take
as long as 5 years to gather the information required for the development of optimal
strategies to address climate change, action could be taken in the interim, and car-
bon soot is a substance that could be controlled fairly quickly. Like many other is-
sues, Tuttavia, climate change mitigation has languished during the past 3 years.
The Secretary of Energy at that time published a paper summarizing the Bush Ad-
ministration’s approach to climate change, but it focused only on new technology
initiatives such as carbon sequestration, hydrogen fuel, clean coal, and various vol-
untary and incentive measures (Abraham 2004). No further mention of BC mitiga-
tion in the United States has been forthcoming.

5. Impacts and options for China

It should be clear from the preceding discussion that China is the country with the
most to lose from high emissions of BC and the most to gain from reduction of BC

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

emissions. The uncontrolled combustion of carbonaceous fuels (mainly coal and
biofuels) in homes and small industrial enterprises is the main cause of high emis-
sions of BC in China. Inhalation of ªne particles in the immediate vicinity of these
sources undoubtedly causes severe health problems, though they have been difªcult
to quantify. People in China and other developing countries are exposed to smoke
from cookstoves for 3–7 hours daily and more in the winter months in northern re-
gions, when homes must also be heated. Women and children, who spend more
time in the indoor environment, are at greater risk. Smoke from biofuels is believed
to pose the greatest health threat. Higher risk of acute respiratory infections, tuber-
culosis, lung cancer, and blindness has been associated with indoor fuel consump-
zione. It has been estimated that there are 2 million premature deaths annually from
the household use of solid fuels worldwide.

Figura 2 shows the spatial distribution of BC emissions in China during 1995. Essere-
cause BC is preferentially emitted from coal and biofuel combustion in the domestic
sector, its emissions are concentrated in a curving west-to-east swath across the agri-
cultural heartland of China, from Sichuan Province to Hebei Province. This is the re-
gion of China where both coal and agricultural residues are available to provide en-
ergy resources to a large and relatively poor rural population. This can be contrasted
with the distribution of other pollutant species such as SO2 and NOx, which are pri-
marily emitted in the industrial, power, and transport sectors. Così, these emissions
are concentrated around the populated and industrial centers of China—that is, IL
coastal provinces from Guangdong to Liaoning (see Arndt et al. 1997; van Aardenne
et al. 1999; Streets et al. 1999). One message, Perciò, is that strategies for BC re-
duction must target particular geographical regions, as well as speciªc source types.

Hansen’s group has modeled the regional climate effects of BC in China on the as-
sumption that there is a high concentration of absorbing aerosols over the country
(Menon et al. 2002). They ªnd that the aerosols heat the air locally, alter regional at-
mospheric stability and vertical motions, and affect the large-scale air circulation
and hydrological cycle. On the basis of their climate model results, they hypothesize
that this may be the cause of increased summer ºoods in southern China in recent
decades, increased drought in northern China, and moderate cooling throughout
China, while the rest of the world has been warming. Zhai and Pan (2003) analyzed
the record of temperature extremes in China during the period 1951–99, using data
from 200 weather stations. They observed the following: (1) a slightly decreasing
trend in the number of hot days ((cid:5)35oC), (2) a signiªcant decreasing trend in the
number of frost days, (3) increasing trends in the frequencies of warm days and
warm nights, (4) a decreasing trend in the frequency of cool days, E (5) a strongly
decreasing trend in the frequency of cool nights. Zhai and Pan hypothesized that

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Figura 2. Spacial distribution of black carbon emissions in 1995 (10 min
resolution, unit Gg/year)

10 min

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these changes are the result of modiªcations to the regional climate from aerosol
emissions.

The economic impacts of continued emissions of black smoke are probably very
large, though they have yet to be calculated. The economic damage resulting from
the effects on health caused by air pollution in China is known to be high and can
greatly exceed (by a factor of 1–15) the costs of controlling harmful emissions (Li et
al. 2004). The ecological effects of black smoke on crop production must also be
high, Anche se, Ancora, such impacts have not been quantiªed. The effects of long-term
climate modiªcation could have profound economic effects, inºuencing many as-
pects of the social fabric of China.

One obvious remediation strategy is to phase out the direct burning of solid carbo-
naceous fuels in small-scale operations. In China, this means eliminating the burn-
ing of raw coal in small, inefªcient combustors (per esempio., cookstoves, heaters, ovens, E
kilns). China is taking steps to do this in the major cities, but the case for extending
this policy to other cities, towns, and rural areas is strong. In terms of particulate
emissions, switching from raw coal to coal briquettes is highly beneªcial: Bond et al.
(2002) have shown that almost no residual airborne PM is produced from the burn-

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

ing of Chinese coal briquettes. Coal washing for industrial applications can also
bring major beneªts quickly and relatively inexpensively.

In China, the elimination of biofuel combustion is another pressing matter. Ascend-
ing the energy ladder (a term coined by Kirk Smith) toward cleaner fuels—such as
liqueªed petroleum gas, biogas, natural gas, and electricity—in the domestic sector
should be an urgent priority. This is already a social development goal for countries
such as China, so environmental concerns provide an added impetus. Some of this
work is already under way. Per esempio, improved cookstoves have been distrib-
uted widely in China (Smith et al. 1993), and the government has mandated that
coal-ªred boilers in Beijing and other major cities be switched to other heat sources
that use cleaner fuels. One concern is that the driving force for improved stoves is
usually fuel efªciency, to reduce the amount of fuel used to deliver a given amount
of useful energy. In pursuit of more efªcient heat transfer, Tuttavia, combustion
efªciency might be sacriªced, leading to greater production of particles and par-
tially oxidized carbonaceous gases. Per esempio, Zhang et al. (1999) found higher
emission rates for improved stoves compared with those of traditional stoves. Fu-
ture designs for improved stoves should concurrently optimize energy and environ-
mental performance.

Open biomass burning contributes signiªcantly to global BC production, and in
Asia it is particularly high, producing an estimated 18 percent of total Asian BC
emissions (Streets et al. 2003). There is no good estimate of the amount of burning
that occurs in China. Steps can be taken to minimize open burning of vegetation in
China. The burning of agricultural residues in ªelds after harvest has been banned
throughout the developed world. In some Chinese provinces, Tuttavia, it remains
common practice, whereas in others it is ofªcially banned but tolerated. Alternative
strategies for farmers to dispose of agricultural residues need to be aggressively
adopted. Biogas production is one attractive alternative, and biofuel/additive bri-
quettes are being studied in Sichuan Province. Plowing under the crop residues af-
ter harvesting is a simple preventative step (though one must remember that one
reason for burning is elimination of pests that have taken hold during the growing
season).

In the transportation sector, modern gasoline-fueled vehicles have very low particu-
late emissions, and therefore emission controls are not necessary. Diesel vehicles, SU
the other hand, generate signiªcant amounts of ªne particles and BC. Vehicle partic-
ulate emission standards in the United States and other developed countries are be-
ing tightened, and consequently diesel vehicles in these countries will need particu-
late controls. Vehicle emission standards in China, Tuttavia, are generally far behind

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

Figura 3. Trends in China’s black carbon emissions, 1980–2000, by sector

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Western standards, even though good progress is being made in a few of the most
modern cities. It is not clear whether diesel vehicles will be subject to stringent stan-
dards in the near future, E, even if they are, it would take a long time for new ve-
hicles to penetrate the in-use vehicle ºeet. In China, we must also acknowledge the
existence of very many old, poor-quality vehicles that generate high levels of ªne
particles. Unconventional vehicles that serve the dual purposes of ªeld plowing and
goods transportation are widespread in the countryside. For all these reasons, su-
grading the vehicle ºeet in China would reduce BC and OC emissions and ease the
burden of regional carbonaceous aerosols.

Trends in BC emissions in China over 1980–2000 (Streets and Aunan 2005) indicate
that some of these transitions are already under way (ªgure 3). We estimate that BC
emissions have been slowly declining since 1995, as coal begins to exit the house-
hold economy (since 1991) and environmental controls have penetrated the indus-
trial economy (since 1996). Coal use in the power sector continues to increase but
generates little BC. Transportation-related BC is gaining ground but from a low
base. Continued vigilance is required, Tuttavia, to keep particulate emissions in
check in the face of rapid economic growth. In contrast to BC emissions, CO2 and

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

NOx emissions continue to increase, whereas SO2 emissions are hard-pressed to re-
main level. Technological progress and socioeconomic development are the two
keys to reducing BC emissions.

Simultaneously reducing the emissions of several species produces rather perverse
climate effects. Streets et al. (2001B) examined the reduction in coal use in China that
occurred during the late 1990s. This trend simultaneously reduced China’s emis-
sions of CO2, SO2, CH4, and BC, all of which have effects on radiative forcing. IL
climate effects of these reductions were simulated within the Jacobson model. IL
net effect of the emission reductions was an increase in global mean temperatures
over a 100-year period. This is attributable to the dominant effect of SO2 as a cooling
agent in the atmosphere in the form of sulfate (SO4) aerosol (temperature change
from SO4 emission reduction (cid:3) (cid:6)0.040°K), though it is clear that the accompanying
reduction in BC emissions partially offsets the effects of the SO2 reductions (temper-
ature change from BC emission reduction (cid:3) (cid:2)0.026°K). Both aerosol inºuences
heavily outweigh the temperature effects of the changes in gas concentrations (CO2
(cid:3) (cid:2)0.003°K; CH4
(cid:3) (cid:6)0.001°K). Così, BC emission reductions can play a signiªcant
role in mitigating global climate change. Effects at the regional level would be even
more pronounced.

6. Conclusione: A new paradigm for global climate change protocols?

The addition of BC-reducing measures to global climate change mitigation agree-
ments such as the Kyoto Protocol offers an opportunity to fully engage China and
other developing countries that have thus far resisted efforts to convince them to re-
duce greenhouse-gas emissions. A new compact might have the following attrib-
utes:

The United States and Europe (and other developed countries) reduce CO2 emis-
sions, because

• They are the cause of most of the accumulated CO2,
• They can (arguably) afford the more expensive measures of CO2 control,
• They will accrue ancillary energy security beneªts, E
• They can contribute a long-term solution.

China and other developing countries reduce BC emissions, because

• They are the cause of most of the emitted BC,
• They can (arguably) afford the less expensive measures of BC control,

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Black Smoke in China and Its Climate Effects

• They will accrue ancillary health beneªts, E
• They can contribute a short-term solution.

It is clear that the effects of carbonaceous particles in the atmosphere are becoming
increasingly important from many different perspectives. By incorporating mea-
sures to reduce such emissions into a climate agreement a number of co-beneªts can
be achieved, perhaps not the least of them being the development of a true global
compact in which all countries play a role, each according to its means, in mitigating
the effects of climate change. This can also serve to focus development aid more
sharply toward reducing the effects of those energy sources that generate ªne parti-
cles. Lending agencies will ªnd impetus to consolidate development, health, and cli-
mate change goals.

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