For reasons that will soon become apparent, Clean Air Fund have today to launched a new report highlighting the threat to glaciers presented by black carbon, a ‘super pollutant’ more commonly known as soot.
Today – 21st March – is the first ever World Day for Glaciers, which coincides with World Water Day and marks the start of the United Nations’ International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
The report is being launched at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris today at an event that is being addressed by speakers including Sampriti Mukherjee, Senior Analyst, Super Pollutants at Clean Air Fund and Dr. Heïdi Sevestre, Deputy Secretary, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme.
Black carbon is a short-lived climate pollutant and a major component of particulate matter that has both air quality and climate impacts. It is the black material emitted alongside other air pollutants during incomplete combustion, with sources including diesel engines, brick kilns, residential energy, wildfires and other sources that burn fossil fuels, biomass and waste.
As black carbon settles on snow and ice, it reduces its reflectivity, and instead absorbs solar radiation, increasing surface temperatures and speeding up melting. It is a significant factor behind the fact that the Arctic is warming four times faster than other parts of the world.
Jane Burston, CEO of the Clean Air Fund said: ‘The devastating impacts of climate change are being felt worldwide. Reducing black carbon, alongside other super pollutants, is the fastest, most effective way to slow climate change, while also mitigating the enormous health impacts of air pollution. Yet to date not enough has been done.’
But this is not simply a climate issue, black carbon also contributes to the 8 million premature deaths caused by air pollution each year at, an economic cost in the region of 6% of global GDP each year.
The report identifies obstacles to action (political, scientific, financial, regulatory, industrial and communication) and presents ‘opportunities’ to address each one: Unlocking political will, refining the science, creating new global frameworks and national regulations, increased funding for black carbon specific-solutions in the most affected areas, increased incentives for industry to reduce emissions, and increasing awareness.
The report suggests that with the right action being taken, by 2030, black carbon could be reduced by 80% against 2010 levels. At the current rate of progress, that figure would be 3%
Martina Otto, Head of the UNEP-Convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), said: ‘On this first World Day for Glaciers, the urgency to cut black carbon has never been clearer. Now we must quickly move to scale up solutions. We are working with governments and partners to overcome the barriers identified in this report, integrate black carbon reductions into climate strategies, and turn commitments into action.’
Izabella Koziell, Deputy Director General at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said: ‘The fastest way to achieve progress on clean air is to target the abatement of black carbon and other super-pollutant sources coming from sectors like residential biomass combustion, transportation and industry, amongst others.
‘ICIMOD’s experience in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region shows that investing in cleaner technologies, along with continued advanced monitoring, and a strong policy support mechanism can lead to long-term environmental, economic and health benefits—an approach that is critical for one of the world’s most polluted regions.’
The full report can be read here
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