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Addressing Climate Change by Tackling Super Pollutants
Among the most significant contributors to global warming are the so-called pollutants: non-carbon greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide, as well as hydrofluorocarbons: synthetic greenhouse gases that damage the ozone layer. Eliminating these pollutants is the fastest way to slow down global temperature rise and avoid the most severe climate impacts.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has been taking on sources of climate pollution across the board,” and that includes super pollutants, said Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor.
“Half of today's warming is caused by super polluting greenhouse gases, and that includes nitrous oxide, methane and hydrofluorocarbons. And that leads to really pernicious outcomes, including a real downward pressure on our public health. Thousands of deaths, tens of thousands of emergency room visits because of the warming caused by super pollutants.”
“In fact, when it comes to super pollutants, I think we've seen really durable and sustained action from the global community,” said Climate Advisor Zaidi. “We embraced the Kigali amendment globally, the United States, of course, has now implemented that through what we call the AIM Act, as well as ratified that in the United States Senate.”
“We've taken a similar approach to methane emissions, the U.S. putting forward its own methane program. Over 100 Executive actions taken just in the last year, and also rallying with … the rest of the world as over 100 countries have joined the global methane pledge,” he said.
Furthermore, in mid-November, the United States, along with the People’s Republic of China and Azerbaijan convened a Summit to accelerate actions to cut emissions of super pollutant gasses.
The three partners announced that over the past three years, multilateral development banks, philanthropic organizations, and governments mobilized $2 billion in funding to tackle super pollutants.
At the same time, numerous governments, including the United States, announced new policy and regulatory steps to reduce super pollutants.
Finally, the UN Environment Program and Food and Agriculture Organization launched the first ever Global Nitrous Oxide Assessment, and new efforts to track and reduce the climate impacts of the third-largest contributor to climate change.
Indeed, Nitrous Oxide is the next super pollutant that this global coalition will take on via a comprehensive approach, said Ali Zaidi. The new Assessment is important. “That scientific basis will help us make the necessary progress to keeping one and a half degrees alive.”