Radiative Forcing Dashboard
In the U.S., pavements can compose up to 44% of urban areas. This affects not only the built environment, but also the climate: Depending on their surface reflectivity, also known as albedo, pavements can absorb enough radiation to change the earth’s energy balance and increase air temperatures—an effect known as radiative forcing.
But by increasing the albedo of manmade surfaces to make them more reflective, it is also possible to lower air temperatures due to radiative forcing and mitigate climate change impacts.
The dashboard below displays the equivalent CO2 savings from radiative forcing due to increasing the albedo of U.S. pavements.
