UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner has called for action to reduce short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), through regional air quality agreements or placing the issue on the agenda for Rio+20. <\/p>\n
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Steiner made the call at the Ministerial Meeting on SLCFs Near Term Climate and Air Quality Benefits, which convened from 12-13 September 2011, in Mexico City, Mexico. He discussed the importance of UNEP\/World Meteorological Organization’s Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone, released in June 2011, and said the report elucidates the likely benefits of action on SLCFs, including potentially keeping global temperature increases below 2 degrees Centigrade. Steiner also emphasized the agricultural and health benefits of taking action on SLCFs. <\/p>\n
Steiner outlined options for taking action on SLCFs including making \u201cSLCFs one of the ‘big ticket’ items for Rio+20\u201d and the development of regional air quality agreements in developed and developing countries. <\/p>\n
Full statement can be found here<\/a><\/p>\n