At the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27), ministers and leaders from more than 40 Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) countries came together alongside dozens of partners from intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations to announce new collaborative efforts, report actions undertaken at home, and reaffirm their commitment to slashing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) for human and planetary health. As the devastating impacts of climate change have become increasingly more apparent around the globe, and against a backdrop of the UN Environment’s Emissions Gap report which indicates that we are on a 2.8° C track, the CCAC’s work to reduce SLCP emissions has become more important than ever.
“Reducing short-lived climate pollutants is the fastest solution the world has to reduce global temperatures. From working to secure the Kigali Amendment to implementing the Global Methane Pledge, CCAC has been an instrumental partner in enhancing ambition on these critical greenhouse gases. We congratulate CCAC on a successful year and look forward to moving further and faster together in the year ahead,” said John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
The CCAC works to build a healthier, safer, and more prosperous world by crossing the bridge between climate and air quality action, and to harness multiple benefits from the fast mitigation of short-lived climate pollutants, including the protection of ecosystems. Reducing SLCP emissions is the most effective pathway to avoid 0.6 ̊C of predicted global warming in the near term and slow sea-level rise by 20% by mid-century. SLCP reductions can slow the rate of Arctic warming by up to two-thirds and the rate of global warming by half.
“Reducing short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and HFC is one of the surest ways to cut the rate of warming in the near-term, slow self-reinforcing feedback and avoid irreversible tipping points. Thanks to the CCAC, GMI and their partners, these issues have been taken head-on and I want to use this opportunity to call leaders for further action and commitment,” said Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of the Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ghana.
New Research
At the Ministerial, two new pieces of CCAC research were launched. EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson launched the new CCAC-UNEP Baseline CH4 Emissions Projections through 2030 report, which shows that the amount of methane in the atmosphere is increasing at record rates and makes an ever-stronger case for urgent action:
- Under business-as-usual scenarios, methane emissions are projected to increase by 5-13% by 2030 from 2020 levels, whereas they need to decline by at least 30% to meet the Global Methane Pledge.
- If global emissions were cut by 30% as set out in Global Methane Pledge, warming would be reduced by at least 0.2 degrees C between 2040 and 2070, compared to baseline projected methane emissions.
- In addition to keeping the planet cool, meeting the Global Methane Pledge would provide additional benefits worldwide through 2050, including:
- Prevention of roughly 5.6 million premature deaths due to tropospheric ozone exposure
- Avoidance of ~580 million tons of yield losses to wheat, maize (corn), rice and soybeans
- Avoidance of ~$520 billion USD in losses due to non-mortality health impacts, forestry, and agriculture
- Avoidance of ~1600 billion lost work hours due to heat exposure
- Slow climate tipping points
Alioune Ndoye, Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and of the Ecological Transition, Senegal, announced the CCAC’s forthcoming Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa, a collaboration between the African Union, the CCAC, and UNEP. The Assessment shows how African leaders can act quickly to fight climate change, prevent air pollution, and protect human health. By following the Assessment’s recommended actions to cut air pollution and prevent climate change, African governments can reap many benefits, including:
- Preventing 200,000 premature deaths per year by 2030 and 880,000 deaths per year by 2063
- Cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 55%, methane emissions by 74%, and nitrous oxide emissions 40% by 2063
- Improving food security by reducing desertification and increasing crop yields for rice, maize, soy, and wheat
- Significantly contributing to global efforts to keep warming below 1.5°C and limiting the negative effects of regional climate change
“We are in a climate emergency. Scientists tell us that the only way to protect people is to reduce the rate of warming now. We can achieve this by focusing our efforts on actions that reduce super climate pollutants and build resilience,” said Minister Ndoye. “This is why Senegal joined the CCAC and proposed to create a Working Group to identify the best available, accessible, and affordable technologies to reduce methane. Methane is 80 times more powerful than CO2. Reducing it is one of the best ways to stay below 1.5°C this decade, which is critical for Africa.”
At the Ministerial, leaders reflected on progress made in the one year since the Global Methane Pledge was announced. At this COP, we saw additional countries joining, bringing the count to 140. Over half of the top 20 methane emitters are now part of the Pledge, representing half of global methane emissions and nearly two-thirds of the global economy. The CCAC is a core implementing partner of the Pledge, serving as first port of call for participating countries and providing scientific analysis, advocacy, and technical and institutional strengthening support.
“The science is clear. We are sliding from climate chaos to climate disaster. As we seek to scale up aggressive and ambitious climate action, addressing short-lived climate pollutants is vital,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP. “At COP26 in Glasgow, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition launched the 2030 strategy aiming to step up implementation. It is critical that we see countries now come together to build capacities, tap into solutions that we already have, and implement transformative mitigation actions.”
Ministers also noted the importance of engaging subnational governments, calling on all partners to solicit their engagement, and further welcomed efforts to include gender, youth, and justice considerations into the CCAC’s work. Ministers recognized the CCAC’s strong leadership role globally on Clean Air, especially the role played in raising further awareness in the context of the International Day on Clean Air for blue skies, and noted efforts supported by the CCAC on transboundary air pollution, welcoming this work as a step to improve the science-policy interface and further scientific advocacy for action on air quality.
Ministers also expressed support for increased energy efficiency in the cooling sector while transitioning away from HFCs, welcoming the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol from at least 6 nation states in 2022. More than half of the first 20 Parties who ratified the amendment and thus brought it into force were CCAC State Partners. Additionally, ministers acknowledged the CCAC’s work with the private sector, including a brand-new guide to include air pollution into inventories and actions across supply chains.
New Announcements
Ministers from several countries announced new commitments to the CCAC Trust Fund, and encouraged countries in a position to do so to make additional pledges. Among these was a pledge from the US, CCAC co-chair, who said that the “United States is proud to announce our intention to provide $3 million to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, subject to Congressional notification and the completion of domestic procedures.”
Additionally, the CCAC presented the brand-new 2021-2022 Annual Report, which looks at the work done over the past year to set the Coalition up to achieve the 2030 strategy. Ministers encouraged developing countries to respond to the CCAC’s Expression of Interest process to identify potential new projects that address CCAC priorities. Ministers reaffirmed their commitments to supporting innovative, new ways to advance mitigation. Senegal suggested the formation of a Technology and Economic Assessment Panel on Methane, which was met with approval. The Coalition emphasized that the oil and gas sector will need to achieve the fastest and deepest methane emissions reductions to stay aligned with a 1.5C trajectory, and reconfirmed their intent to continue to work within the sector to realize the significant mitigation potential. Finally, the Coalition of ministers requested that CCAC partners work together develop a concept for a program or activities, including regional cooperation and agreements, on ‘clean air action’ to launch at the 2024 CCAC Ministerial.
Quotes from Ministers
“The science is clear. We need immediate and accelerated action in this critical decade with reductions in all greenhouse gas emissions, fully embracing the opportunity of reducing short-lived climate and air pollutants that will have a high impact on cooling our planet. This is critical to keeping global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees, a goal which we cannot deviate and one that is technically possible. Ireland recognizes the important work of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and is delighted to fully participate and support country-driven projects across key sectors which address climate change and help secure a cleaner, healthier environment and planet.” – Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Ireland.
“To remain hopeful in the face of climate change, we need to use the emergency brake. By stepping up efforts on short-lived climate pollutants, like methane, we can rapidly reduce the rate of global warming. We’ve seen positive developments the last year, but we need to do more.” – Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Climate and the Environment of Norway.
Quotes from Partners
“Reducing air pollution improves our health, makes cities more liveable, boosts economies and accelerates climate action. Countries can maximize their impact by tackling air pollution and climate change together. It’s a win-win.” – Jane Burston, Executive Director, Clean Air Fund.
“The role of SLCPs in reducing near-term warming and air pollution places our actions at the heart of sustainable development. The set of measures that we have identified give us a sign of hope as they are proven and cost-effective. Working in partnership is ever more important to get out of the single project mode to the scale and pace commensurate with the urgency and the opportunity.” – Martina Otto, Head of Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
“We’re at the point where we need to solve for multiple crises at once. Capturing methane that’s lost to venting, leaks and flaring in the energy sector is an unmatched win for climate progress, public health, energy security and sustainable development. The Global Methane Pledge created a framework for countries to engage and make an immediate impact. Now we need to move from commitments to action. This will require new models for regional cooperation, including investment at scale from wealthy nations that built their economies on fossil energy.” – Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund.
“As per the Emissions Gap Report, updated national pledges since COP26 make a negligible difference to 2030 emissions projections and we are not on track to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. While the Montreal Protocol Kigali Amendment cuts production and consumption of HFCs, potent synthetic industrial chemicals primarily used for cooling, significant opportunity remains to capture additional emissions reductions from the rapidly rising demand in the cooling sector. The CCAC partners have an opportunity to catalyze fast action on delivering significant reductions in SLCPs over the next decade such as by lifecycle refrigerant management that can prevent fluorocarbon emissions equivalent to 90 billion metric tons of CO2 this century.” — Avipsa Mahapatra, Climate Campaign Lead, Environmental Investigation Agency.
“The concentration of methane in the atmosphere is higher than it has been at any time in the past 800,000 years and it continues to rise. Rapid and deep cuts in methane emissions are critical to limiting global warming, but the importance of methane mitigation goes far beyond that. The tropospheric ozone produced by methane emissions damages our lungs, reduces crop yields, and harms terrestrial ecosystems, interfering with their ability to act as carbon sinks. Methane mitigation is crucial for achieving our broader sustainability goals: ensuring healthy lives, achieving food security, protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, and not least, limiting dangerous climate change.
The Global Methane Pledge is a great promise, but it is also the commitment of countries to do their ‘methane homework’ – its success depends on each country coming up with and then implementing a concrete plan for where and how methane emissions reductions will be achieved.” – Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence, Managing Scientific Director, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS).
“Civil society in Brazil has sought to contribute to tackling climate change and air pollution. Following the Global Methane Pledge, IEMA together with other organizations in the Brazilian Climate Observatory have recently concluded that Brazil can cut its methane emissions by 36% in 2030, relative to 2020 levels, suggesting that the country take actions in various sectors to realize such scenario. Brazil is also lagging in air quality monitoring, most states do not have one single air quality monitoring station, and that includes all states in the Amazon Region whose inhabitants suffer with the forest burnings. Building a robust national air quality monitoring system is one accomplishment that the new administration must seek.” – Mr. André Luis Ferreira, Executive Director, Instituto de Energia e Meio Ambiente (IEMA).
“The waste and resource management sector offers a considerable and immediate cost-effective opportunity to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, by encouraging the transition to a circular economy, establishing innovative low-carbon technologies, and solving open burning and open dumping of waste and plastic pollution on both land and in the oceans, which can increase action against climate change.
During this transition towards a net zero future it is crucial that we, as global organizations, support the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and collaborate to the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge, fostering the development of economic instruments to finance climate mitigation and adaptation measures, including structuring a global market to trade methane reduction credits from waste operations to achieve the Global Methane Pledge goal.” – Carlos RV Silva Filho, President of The International Solid Waste Association- ISWA.
“As a member of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition since 2013, Nefco continues to support the goals of the CCAC in reducing short-lived climate pollutants to rapidly reduce warming in the near term. We wish CCAC success in launching the Africa Integrated Assessment at COP27 that seeks to enshrine action on short-lived climate pollutants in sustainable development agendas.” – Managing Director Mr. Trond Moe, NEFCO.
“How we plan, design and shape our cities allows us to tackle air pollution and emissions together. Reducing demand for travel, a move to more public transport integrated with walking and cycling, more energy efficient buildings and greening our cities are key for an integrated strategy to reduce air pollution while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.” – Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN-Habitat.
“WMO’s latest Greenhouse Gas Bulletin shows that greenhouse gas levels remain record high. In 2021 there was the biggest jump in methane concentrations since we started measurements. We are investigating why. This is clearly a matter of concern. Strategies to tackle methane emissions must be informed by the best available science. WMO is working to establish a global greenhouse gas monitoring infrastructure to support policy making in the crucial years ahead.” – Dr. Elena Manaenkova, Deputy Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization.
