The Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024 began on February 21, with a call for international collaboration to phase-out short-lived climate pollutants, or “super pollutants”.
Key points
- Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), also referred to as “short-lived climate forcers” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are greenhouse gases and other climate pollutants that have relatively short atmospheric lifetimes compared to carbon dioxide.
- The main SLCPs are black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
- Per molecule in the atmosphere, SLCPs have a stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide, so reducing these pollutants is beneficial to reduce near-term warming and can be very cost-effective.
- Phasing out super pollutants can reduce air pollution, a global health risk. This will save millions of lives and reduce health impacts on children, including asthma. Protecting crops from pollutants like tropospheric ozone will also boost food security.
