10.2 Projected Changes in Emissions, Concentrations and Radiative Forcing
The global projections discussed in this chapter are extensions of the simulations of the observational record discussed in Chapter 9. The simulations of the 19th and 20th centuries are based upon changes in long-lived greenhouse gases (LLGHGs) that are reasonably constrained by the observational record. Therefore, the models have qualitatively similar temporal evolutions of their radiative forcing time histories for LLGHGs (e.g., see Figure 2.23). However, estimates of future concentrations of LLGHGs and other radiatively active species are clearly subject to significant uncertainties. The evolution of these species is governed by a variety of factors that are difficult to predict, including changes in population, energy use, energy sources and emissions. For these reasons, a range of projections of future climate change has been conducted using coupled AOGCMs. The future concentrations of LLGHGs and the anthropogenic emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a chemical precursor of sulphate aerosol, are obtained from several scenarios considered representative of low, medium and high emission trajectories. These basic scenarios and other forcing agents incorporated in the AOGCM projections, including several types of natural and anthropogenic aerosols, are discussed in Section 10.2.1. Developments in projecting radiatively active species and radiative forcing for the early 21st century are considered in Section 10.2.2.
10.2.1 Emissions Scenarios and Radiative Forcing in the Multi-Model Climate Projections
The temporal evolution of the LLGHGs, aerosols and other forcing agents are described in Sections 10.2.1.1 and 10.2.1.2. Typically, the future projections are based upon initial conditions extracted from the end of the simulations of the 20th century. Therefore, the radiative forcing at the beginning of the model projections should be approximately equal to the radiative forcing for present-day concentrations relative to pre-industrial conditions. The relationship between the modelled radiative forcing for the year 2000 and the estimates derived in Chapter 2 is evaluated in Section 10.2.1.3. Estimates of the radiative forcing in the multi-model integrations for one of the standard scenarios are also presented in this section. Possible explanations for the range of radiative forcings projected for 2100 are discussed in Section 10.2.1.4, including evidence for systematic errors in the formulations of radiative transfer used in AOGCMs. Possible implications of these findings for the range of global temperature change and other climate responses are summarised in Section 10.2.1.5.