ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS INVENTORIES - STATUS AND PROSPECTS

Emissions inventories are the basis for many studies of the relationsh ips between human activities and the environment, especially computer- model studies of the present and future, and are used by the scientifi c community to link theory to field observations. Within the policy co mmunity, they provide some of the most important information needed to formulate international environmental agreements. In North America, E urope, parts of Asia, and a few smaller regions, detailed emissions in ventories are available for the principal greenhouse gases, acid-relat ed species, and selected toxics and natural emittants. Internationally -generated, global-scale, gridded emissions inventories have only rece ntly been released for general use. International agreements on emissi ons reductions are constrained by philosophical, technological, and fi nancial differences among nations, but have nonetheless been shown to be of substantial value in decreasing the emissions of chemical specie s that clearly cause environmental degradation.