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Primer on short-lived climate pollutants

Slowing the rate of global warming over the near term by cutting short-lived climate pollutants to complement carbon dioxide reductions for the long term. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are responsible for 55-60% of anthropogenic radiative forcing. Fast and aggressive CO2 mitigation is essential to combat the resulting climate change. But this is not enough. CO2 mitigation must be combined with fast and aggressive reductions of the pollutants causing the other 40-45% of forcing. These pollutants include black carbon, tropospheric ozone, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Because these pollutants have atmospheric lifetimes of only days to a decade and a half, they are referred to as short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Some of the SLCPs have a particularly powerful impact in the regions where they are emitted. Reducing SLCPs is critical for slowing the rate of climate change over the next several decades and for protecting the people and regions most vulnerable to near-term climate impacts through the end of the century. See also: Bipartisan team to introduce Super Pollutants Act to cut HFCs, black carbon, methane http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/bipartisan-team-introduce-super-pollutants-act-cut-hfcs-black-carbon-methane Primer on Hydrofluorocarbons http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/primer-hydrofluorocarbons-0 Super Pollutants Bill of 2014 http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/super-pollutants-bill-2014 Super Pollutants Act of 2014 http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/super-pollutants-act-2014

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