Stockholm, 24 April
2012-Five transformational initiatives aimed
at accelerating and scaling-up action against
a range of health, crop and climate-damaging
pollutants were given the go-ahead by ministers
meeting in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
The initiatives, which
mark the beginning of the implementation
phase of the new Climate and Clean Air Coalition,
will fast track momentum towards reducing
black carbon or 'soot', methane and a range
of fluorinated gases called HFCs.
Further momentum was
catalyzed with the announcements of Colombia,
Japan, Nigeria, Norway and the European
Commission that they are joining the Coalition
along with the World Bank.
It brings to 13 the
number of partners who have joined, expanding
the initial membership founded by Bangladesh,
Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden and the United
States and the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP).
The Coalition was launched
on February 16 at an event hosted by US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Five other countries-Australia,
Denmark, Finland, the Republic of Korea
and the United Kingdom along with delegates
from the private sector -also attended as
observers at this week's meeting to learn
first-hand the Coalition's plans.
More than 10 years of
scientific research and assessment indicates
that substances such as black carbon or
'soot' and methane are triggering wide-ranging
health, climate and crop-damaging impacts.
Introducing cost effective
and environmentally-friendly alternatives
to fluorinated gases known as HFCs are also
part of the Coalition's aims as a result
of their high potential to impact climate
change if widely taken up over the coming
years.
Fast action to reduce
short lived climate pollutants can have
a direct impact on climate change with the
potential to reduce warming by up to 0.5
degrees Celsius by 2050 and help keep global
temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius.
Reductions of SLCPs
would also allow for addressing rapid melting
in the Arctic and in mountain regions with
glaciers, like the Himalayas.
By around 2030, fast
action can potentially prevent millions
of premature deaths from for example inhalation
of black carbon while avoiding an estimated
30 million tonnes of crop losses.
The Coalition emphasizes
that the climate benefits need to be backed
by cuts in other greenhouse gases including
C02 if temperature increases over the 21st
century are to be held below 2 degrees C.
However, addressing
near term warming from SLCPs may be crucial
to avoid the most serious impacts over the
coming decades.
The announcement of
new national partners was made today at
the end of the first Ministerial meeting
of the Coalition which has been taking place
in parallel with Stockholm+40-a conference
marking four decades after the UN Conference
on the Human Environment which took place
in the Swedish capital in 1972.
The meeting and conference
also comes in advance of Rio+20-two decades
after the 1992 Earth Summit that set the
course for contemporary sustainable development.
Lena Ek, the Swedish
Environment Minister, said today: "Sweden
is committed to continue working actively
with this important coalition. Furthermore
we are happy to announce our contribution
to the Coalition Trust Fund with 1.4 MSEK
for the UNEP Secretariat and 10 MSEK to
concrete projects".
11.4 million Swedish
Krona is around $1.7 million.
Assessment and Go-Ahead
for Scaled-up Initiatives
The meeting assessed
around a dozen initiatives proposed by developed
and developing countries for fast and federated
action on short lived climate pollutants
including many happening already at the
national level.
Delegates took forward
five to be approved for rapid implementation
by Ministers on the final day. Those approved
included:-
Fast action on diesel
emissions including from heavy duty vehicles
and engines
Studies show that reductions
are possible by addressing emissions from
the freight transportation supply chain,
through city action plans, and adoption
of a range of measures for reducing sulphur
in fuels and vehicle emissions
Upgrading old inefficient
brick kilns which are a significant source
of black carbon emissions
Mexico has for example [20,000] small and
medium-sized brick kilns and the design
of many of the [6,000] in Bangladesh hark
back to the 1900s.
Accelerating the reduction
of methane emissions from landfills
World-wide the waste
management sector contributes about 11%
of global methane emissions, and the coalition
will work with cities to reduce methane
emissions from landfills by improving strategic
municipal solid waste planning and providing
technical assistance.
Speeding up cuts in
methane and other emissions from the oil
and gas industry
Natural gas venting
and leakage from the oil and gas industry
accounts for over one fifth of global man-made
emissions of methane:Flaring at oil installations
generate both methane and black carbon emissions.
An estimated one third of leaks and venting
can be cut using existing technologies at
low cost.
Accelerating alternatives
to HFCs
HFCs are being rapidly
introduced as replacements to chemicals
that can damage the ozone layer-the Earth's
protective shield that filters out hazardous
ultra violet light. But HFCs are also powerful
greenhouse gases.
The Coalition aims to
fast track more environmentally-friendly
and cost effective alternatives and technologies
to avoid HFC growth.
Additional initiatives
- including a proposal by Ghana on agricultural/forest
open burning and a proposal by Bangladesh
on cookstoves - would be further developed
over the coming weeks.
Trust Fund Established
To support the Coalition's
efforts, a new Trust Fund managed by a UNEP-hosted
secretariat was agreed today.
Initial financing pledges
for the Coalition now amount to some $16.7
million with significantly more funds expected
over the coming 12 months.
Science Advisory Panel
Sound science has underpinned
the formation of the Coalition and will
guide its work into the future. Ministers
today asked three luminaries involved in
short lived climate pollutant work to advise
them on the formation of a dedicated world-class
Science Advisory Panel to provide scientific
advice to the Coalition.
The advice will be provided
by Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute
for Space Studies, Mario Molina, the distinguished
Mexican chemist and 1995 Nobel Prize co-winner
and Veerabhadran Ramanathan, chair of the
UNEP Atmospheric Brown Cloud project based
at the University of California San Diego,
Coalition Web Site Goes
Live
The Coalition today
also unveiled a dedicated web site to support
dissemination of information about the initiative's
role and partners http://www.unep.org/ccac/
Notes to Editors
Quotes from Other Newly
Joining Partners
Colombia
Frank Pearl, the Colombian Minister of the
Environment and Sustainable Development,
said: "Colombia has recognized for
some time the urgency of acting on these
short lived climate pollutants including
the impacts of black carbon on public health
and the accelerated melting of glaciers
the high mountain areas of Latin America".
"Colombia is among
several countries in our region to act on
soot particles from vehicles and other contaminating
sources as well as emissions that are triggering
tropospheric or ground level ozone-another
short lived climate pollutants," he
said.
"In joining the
Coalition we see not only potential national
and global benefits but Colombia plans to
act as a regional hub, reaching out to other
countries in Latin America in order to generate
regional opportunities for sustainable development,"
said Mr Pearl.
European Commission
Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner
for Climate Action, said: "The European
Commission is very pleased to join this
Coalition. This initiative should complement
the efforts needed under the UN climate
change convention to cut global greenhouse
gas emissions to a level that will limit
global temperature increase to below 2°C.
"The Commission
is willing to consider further support to
concrete projects in developing countries
to reduce emissions from short-lived climate
pollutants. Action on these pollutants will
not, however, replace the need for continued
action by all major economies to reduce
CO2 emissions, which needs to be stepped
up," she added.
Nigeria
Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia , Nigerian Minister
of the Environment said: "Nigeria is
delighted to be a new member of the Coalition.
It is estimated that 95,000 women in my
country die each year prematurely because
of black carbon emissions from source such
as inefficient cook stoves-this is a conservative
estimate. Meanwhile there are enormous opportunities
for reducing methane emissions from sources
such as the oil and gas industry and landfills
that can benefit Nigeria and its people
and the wider regional and global ambitions
to combat climate change in a cost effective
and economic way".
"We look to encourage
more countries within Africa and beyond
to join this inspiring initiative so that
fast action can be federated everywhere
in order to save lives, improve food security
and tackle climate change which challenges
the future of the poor and the vulnerable
exponentially," she added.
Norway
Bård Vegar Solhjell, the Norwegian
Minister of the Environment, said: "Norway
is delighted to join the Coalition. It unites
our country's interest in achieving national
sustainability with international responsibilities
in the areas of health, food security, climate
and development".
"There are many
international initiatives addressing these
short term pollutants, and Norway is participating
in several of them. In this Coalition the
United Nations Environment Program participates,
both as partner and as Secretariat for the
Coalition. This is a very wise decision,
which provides credibility and leverage
and increases the value of the Coalition´s
work", he added.
"Finally it echoes
to Norway's interest in the Green Economy
in the context of sustainable development
and poverty eradication-a key issue for
the upcoming Rio+20 Summit in June-in which
well-targeted policy and financial interventions
can catalyze benefits across multiple fronts,"
said Mr Solhjell.
World Bank
"From multi-billion dollar investments
in clean energy each year to climate smart
solutions for agriculture and cities, the
Bank already targets short-term environmental
pollutants in developing countries through
our lending, data and evidence based knowledge
sharing and technical assistance. But, we
can achieve even more by working as a coalition,"
said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President
for Sustainable Development.
"This is the most
important decade for action on climate change",
Kyte said. "But with a global treaty
that will speed the curbing of carbon dioxide
many years off, the climate and clean air
coalition puts a practical new deal on the
table - one that helps slow global warming
while reducing the soot and smog that is
damaging food crops and health worldwide,
undermining growth and development."
Aims of the Coalition
To catalyze the speed
and the scale of action on short lived climate
pollutants
Enhance existing and develop new national
actions to address mitigation gaps
Encourage existing and new regional actions
Reinforce and track existing efforts to
reduce these pollutants, promoting opportunities
for greater international coordination and
developing and improving inventories
Identify barriers to action and seeking
to surmount them
Promote best practices or available technologies
and showcase successful efforts to address
short lived climate pollutants
Improve understanding of and review scientific
progress on short lived climate pollutants,
their impacts and benefits of mitigation
and dissemination of knowledge; and
Mobilize targeted support for those developing
countries that require resources to develop
their capacity and to implement actions
consistent with national strategies to support
sustainable development
The Climate and Clean
Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Term Climate
Pollutants was launched in Washington DC
on 17 February 2012.
