International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution

International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution
Name	International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution
Formation	1970s
Type	Scientific commission
Headquarters	Geneva
Leader title	President

Contents

International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution is an international scientific commission focused on atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, and global environmental change. It has engaged with major institutions such as United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, European Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change while interacting with regional bodies like European Environment Agency, Asian Development Bank, African Union, Organization of American States, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

History and formation

The commission was conceived during meetings that included participants from Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (United States), Max Planck Society, French Academy of Sciences, and Chinese Academy of Sciences and was formally established amid negotiations influenced by conferences such as the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Founding figures had affiliations with institutions including MIT, Caltech, Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and drew on earlier programs like International Geophysical Year and Global Atmospheric Research Programme. Early funding and support involved entities such as European Commission, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, World Bank, and National Science Foundation (United States).

Governance is administered through an elected council with officers drawn from universities and agencies such as University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Peking University, University of Tokyo, and University of Cape Town. Committees coordinate subject areas including tropospheric chemistry, stratospheric ozone, aerosol science, and remote sensing, liaising with programs like Global Atmosphere Watch, GCOS, GEOS-Chem, and Copernicus Programme. Statutes reference collaborations with legal and policy institutions such as International Court of Justice, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, World Health Organization, and regional research networks including Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research and Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.

Research programs include long-term monitoring, model intercomparison projects, emission inventory development, and process studies conducted with partners such as NOAA, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, CSIRO, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The commission has overseen initiatives comparable to AERONET, AMAP, IGAC, SOLAS, and SPARC, addressing chemical transport models like WRF-Chem, GEOS-Chem, CMAQ, and observational platforms including Global Drifter Program, ARIEL, NOAA-20, and networks such as World Data Centre for Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere. Field campaigns have involved research vessels and stations including RV Polarstern, Mauna Loa Observatory, Ny-Ålesund Research Station, Barrow (Utqiaġvik), and Cape Grim, and engaged researchers from Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, LSCE, and CSIC.

The commission issues assessments, technical reports, and conference proceedings published alongside journals and publishers such as Nature, Science (journal), Environmental Science & Technology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cambridge University Press, and Springer Nature. It convenes international symposia and workshops co-located with meetings of AGU, EGU, IUGG, IUPAP, and themed conferences tied to programs like UNFCCC COP, Montreal Protocol review panels, and sessions at World Economic Forum. Special reports have been cited by panels including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Arctic Council, European Parliament, and national review boards in United Kingdom, United States, China, India, and Brazil.

Category:Atmospheric chemistry organizations