Limiting Global Cooling after Global Warming is Over - Differentiating between Short- and Long-Lived Greenhouse Gases

Abstract

Current climate policy does not take into account that, after greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced to an extent that atmospheric concentrations stabilise and then start to fall, natural decay of greenhouse gases will lead to a global cooling phase spanning several centuries. This cooling will lead to damage to humans and ecosystems that depends on the rate of temperature change. Current climate policy should thus concentrate on the reduction of short- and medium-lived greenhouse gases, while exempting long-lived gases. This reduces the cooling rate. Another policy option is to sequester carbon in geological reservoirs that allow controlled release in the future.