"Governments are slowly advancing efforts to reduce climate and health impacts of soot."

"Governments are poised this week to begin discussing rules to curb black-carbon pollution from ships, after nearly seven years of preparation. The sooty emissions, which are produced by diesel engines, warm the climate and harm human health.

At a meeting in London, a panel of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) is expected to agree on measurement techniques to gather data that could support eventual regulations. That is the second step in a three-step process begun in 2011. Agreeing on a definition for black carbon took four years; the final step, writing rules, could take a few more.

Reducing the amount of black carbon emitted by ships could have a significant impact on the climate. The pollutant, a melange of particles and oil droplets that come in many shapes and sizes, is the second-largest driver of global warming — behind only carbon dioxide. Diesel engines, such as those in ships, account for around one-fifth of the world’s black-carbon emissions, according to a study published in 2013)."

Jeff Tollefson reports for Nature February 6, 2018. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"It's Not Just High Temps Messing with Snow—It's Dust" (Outside) [3]