Global strategy for European atmospheric interdisciplinary research
The European Commission, DG XII, has recently published Air Pollution Research Report No 61 entitled "A global strategy for European atmospheric interdisciplinary research - AIRES". The document outlines a proposed global strategy for resolving outstanding issues in atmospheric research in Europe, on the basis of contributions from two advisory panels: on Atmospheric Chemistry and on Stratospheric Ozone. These groups were established by the Commission to provide input to EU environmental research programmes. The strategy is based on an analysis of the links between environmental issues and their social and economic consequences. Issues identified include air quality, deposition, climate change, stratospheric ozone and UV radiation, to be treated at different priority scales from local to global. As part of the process of identifying scientific priorities, the issues associated with emissions of trace gases and particles are dealt with methodically. Research will provide the basis for assessing the impact of human activities on the Earth's environment and of the risks posed by the induced change. Since the problems are many and varied, research activities need to be developed through a coordinated approach, to address all problems simultaneously, hence the need for a global strategy.