Scenarios of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Atmospheric Concentrations (SAP 2.1a)

This and a companion report constitute one of twenty-one Synthesis and Assessment Products called for in the "Strategic Plan for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program." These studies are structured to provide high-level, integrated research results on important science issues with a particular focus on questions raised by decision-makers on dimensions of climate change directly relevant to the U.S. One element of the CCSP's strategic vision is to provide decision support tools for differentiating and evaluating response strategies. Scenario-based analysis is one such tool. The scenarios in this report explore the implications of alternative stabilization levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, and they explicitly consider the economic and technological foundations of such response options. Such scenarios are a valuable complement to other scientific research contained in the twenty-one CCSP Synthesis and Assessment Products. The companion to the research reported here, "Global-Change Scenarios: Their Development and Use," explores the broader strategic frame for developing and utilizing scenarios in support of climate decision making.