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POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF GREENHOUSE WARMING: MITIGATION, ADAPTATION, AND THE SCIENCE BASE

This report on greenhouse gases and global warming presents the results of a study by four panels of experts, including scientists as well as individuals with experience in government, private industry, and public interest organizations. The Synthesis Panel was charged with developing overall findings and recommendations. The Effects Panel examined what is known about changing climatic conditions and related effects. The Mitigation Panel looked at options for reducing or reversing the onset of potential global warming. The Adaptation Panel assessed the impacts of possible climate change on human and ecologic systems and the policies that could help people and natural systems adapt to those changes. Accordingly, the report is organized in four parts. Part One: Synthesis includes the following chapters: (1) Introduction; (2) Background; (3) The Greenhouse Gases and Their Effects; (4) Policy Framework; (5) Adaptation; (6) Mitigation; (7) International Considerations; (8) Findings and Conclusions; and (9) Recommendations. Part Two: The Science Base continues with the following chapters: (10) Introduction; (11) Emission Rates and Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases; (12) Radiative Forcing and Feedback; (13) Model Performance; (14) The Climate Record; (15) Hydrology; (16) Sea Level; (17) A Greenhouse Forcing and Temperature Rise Estimation Procedure; and (18) Conclusions. Part Three: Mitigation continues with: (19) Introduction; (20) A Framework for Evaluating Mitigation Options; (21) Residential and Commercial Energy Management; (22) Industrial Energy Management; (23) Transportation Energy Management; (24) Energy Supply Systems; (25) Nonenergy Emission Reduction; (26) Population; (27) Deforestation; (28) Geoengineering; and (29) Findings and Recommendations. Finally, Part Four: Adaptation concludes with: (30) Findings; (31) Recommendations; (32) Issues, Assumptions, and Values; (33) Methods and Tools; (34) Sensitivities, Impacts, and Adaptations; (35) Indices; and (36) Final Words. Chapter 23, Transportation Energy Management, in reviewing methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, focuses on three areas: vehicle efficiency, alternative transportation fuels, and transportation system management. It points out that: in the short run, transportation energy consumption can change rapidly as consumers adjust their demands concerning when and how to travel; on a slightly longer time scale, higher vehicle and fuel prices, along with shifts in vehicle and transportation demand, will lead to changes in the types of vehicles in use; and, on a significantly longer time scale, investments can be made in alternative transportation fuels, construction of new mass transit facilities and high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes, land use planning and jobs/housing balance, research and development, and tooling for technological improvements.

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  • Corporate Authors:

    National Academy of Sciences

    Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
    Washington, DC  United States  20418
  • Publication Date: 1992

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 944 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00626990
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309043867
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Mar 3 1993 12:00AM