Reacción a "Although reducing aerosol emissions improves air quality and public health, a study shows that it contributes to an acceleration of global warming"

Is the study of good quality?

“Yes, it is a study of a high scientific standard, which uses robust, validated data.”

Does it have any limitations that should be taken into account?

“In principle, no. It addresses an issue that has been highlighted in climate change studies, and particularly in analyses of the planetary energy balance, which is key to understanding what has been happening to the Earth’s climate in recent decades. The reduction in aerosols as a result of restrictions on the use of chemical components in marine fuels is causing an increase in solar irradiance reaching ocean basins, particularly. This further enhances the current process of climate warming.”

What implications does it have, and how does it fit with existing evidence?

“There is a paradox in that a regulation aimed at improving air quality is resulting in a further intensification of the current warming process. In particular, the accumulation of energy in ocean basins, whose thermal behaviour is fundamental to the regulation of the Earth’s climate.”

How is it possible that the intended reduction in atmospheric emissions contributes to global warming?

“This is an intensification of the warming process with an anthropogenic cause (the reduction of chemical components in marine fuels to improve air quality) which has a natural effect: an increase in solar irradiance reaching the Earth’s surface. The planet’s energy balance is mainly disrupted by the presence of greenhouse gases emitted in large quantities by humans since the 1960s, which prevent infrared radiation from escaping into outer space. However, this is now compounded by the increased arrival of solar radiation at the Earth’s surface due to this reduction in aerosols, which previously had a reflecting effect on that radiation and are now doing so to a much lesser extent due to their reduced presence in the lower atmosphere. This means, in short, that the current climate warming process is being reinforced and that in the short and medium term the prospects for solving this global problem are becoming increasingly distant.”

What consequences could these findings have for the development of policies on atmospheric pollutants?

“The measure taken to reduce ship emissions pollution is a good one, as it improves air quality, which is another serious environmental problem we face on our planet. However, in the short and medium term, as we continue to emit greenhouse gases on a large scale (through the burning of fossil fuels), the effect of maintaining or even increasing warming will become more pronounced. The solution would be for all countries in the world, and especially the largest emitters, to drastically reduce their emissions in order to achieve a natural functioning of the Earth’s climate. This would more than offset the increase in solar irradiance that has been recorded in recent decades and which this study rigorously quantifies.”