Black Carbon - Policy Options

Policy Options

Many countries have existing national laws to regulating black carbon emissions, including laws that address particulate emissions. Some examples include:

• banning or regulating slash-and-burn clearing of forests and savannas;
• requiring shore-based power/electrification of ships at port, regulating idling at terminals, and mandating fuel standards for ships seeking to dock at port;
• requiring regular vehicle emissions tests, retirement, or retrofitting (e.g. adding particulate traps), including penalties for failing to meet air quality emissions standards, and heightened penalties for on-the-road “super-emitting” vehicles;
• banning or regulating the sale of certain fuels and/or requiring the use of cleaner fuels for certain uses;
• limiting the use of chimneys and other forms of biomass burning in urban and non-urban areas;
• requiring permits to operate industrial, power generating, and oil refining facilities and periodic permit renewal and/or modification of equipment; and
• requiring filtering technology and high-temperature combustion (e.g. super-critical coal) for existing power generation plants, and regulating annual emissions from power generation plants.

The International Network for Environmental Compliance & Enforcement issued a Climate Compliance Alert on Black Carbon in 2008 which cited reduction of carbon black as a cost-effective way to reduce a major cause of global warming.