On Friday, 18 June 2010, a workshop has been held on synergies and trade-offs between climate and air pollution policies, organised by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) and the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment (VROM) within the framework of the Dutch Research Programme on Air and Climate (BOLK). The workshop report, programme and the presentations are available below.

Context and aim of the workshop

Climate and air pollution policies are strongly linked because greenhouse gases and air pollutants share the same sources. Moreover, climate change influences air pollution and vise versa. Since both policy fields currently are undergoing rapid development, more attention is needed for the formulation of an integrated strategy. In doing so, it is important to estimate the synergies and trade-offs between these policy fields. An example in this context would be the important role played by the estimated co-benefits on air pollution of the new European climate and energy plans in the current revision of the national emissions ceilings for 2020.

In the workshop a closer look has been taken at potential co-benefits and disbenefits of specific climate measures on air polluting emissions, and of the European and national greenhouse gas mitigation plans. Furthermore, attention has been paid to short-term climate forcing effects of air pollutants. Such knowledge could be used to optimise an integrated approach in climate and air pollution policies, and to prevent possible risks such as increased air pollution or global warming.

Workshop report

• Workshop report

 Programme and presentations

Contact: Pieter.hammingh@pbl.nl