Climate Change in the Arctic - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 290

in the use and release of high global warming potential hydrofluorocarbons to the environ-
ment. We support a gradual phase-down in the consumption and production of HFCs.”
It really did look as if world governments at the 25th anniversary meeting of the
Montreal Protocol in November 2012 were poised to seize this opportunity to slow the rate
of global warming by setting up negotiations for the phasing out of HFCs. This would nor-
mally begin with the formation of a “contact group” to prepare the ground before any ne-
gotiations of actions could begin. Momentum for the initiative vanished overnight when
it was firmly opposed by three of the largest countries with developing economies. In-
stead,adiscussiongrouphasbeenestablishedandtheprotocol'sTechnologyandEconomic
Assessment Panel (TEAP) was asked to prepare a report on currently available and devel-
oping alternatives.
It is easy to be cynical and agree with the saying that committees and discussion
groups are wonderful places to send good ideas, where they can quietly die. However, if
there is a persistent champion, discussion groups sometimes act as a nurturing cocoon from
which the strengthened idea can eventually see the light of day. The Arctic Messenger
watches rapidly retreating sea ice, eroding permafrost and the shrinking Greenland ice
sheet and hopes this embryo is allowed to quickly grow before the polar positive-feedback
mechanisms gain complete control.
We have already discussed how ozone warms the stratosphere by absorbing the sun's
highly energetic ultraviolet radiation and by absorbing upwelling infrared radiation from
thetroposphere.Ozoneisalsopresentinthetroposphere,whereitisformedbyphotochem-
ical reactions involving nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
VOCs and NOx can be produced naturally but are also produced by, for example, internal
combustion engines. The warmer it is, the more ozone is formed. Within the troposphere,
ozone performs a GHG forcing role by absorbing infrared radiation and, to a lesser degree,
by absorbing the small amount of incoming ultraviolet radiation that has survived its pas-
sage through the stratosphere and through tropospheric water vapour. Ozone is thought to
have an atmospheric tropospheric lifetime at high northern latitudes of one to two weeks in
the summer and about two months in winter.