Excellencies and colleagues. Welcome to this event on super pollutants. My thanks to Sir Andrew Steer for joining us as facilitator.
The climate crisis is intensifying, bringing death, destruction and economic damage across the world. Yet existing commitments under the Paris Agreement will see global temperatures far exceed 1.5°C. Unless we act with urgency, far worse is to come.
We know that super pollutants such as methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone cause around half of today’s warming. And we know that firm action on these super pollutants can bring rapid gains. Put us on track for a cooler planet. Deliver action across the full triple planetary crisis – the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss, and the crisis of pollution and waste. And, of course, bring benefits for human health and economies.
There are already many commitments on super pollutants, from the Global Methane Pledge to the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. And a new report on nitrous oxide to be released at the upcoming meeting of the parties of the Montreal Protocol sheds light on another super pollutant that requires urgent attention.
The question is how to take these commitments to the next level?
We can start by encouraging governments to give super pollutants a prominent role in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These new pledges, which are due to start landing next year, will set the course of climate action out to 2030 and 2035. Over this time frame, action on super pollutants can reduce the risk of exceeding 1.5°C.
And so, I encourage everyone to adopt the 2024 CCAC Ministerial Communique, which calls for every nation to include specific economy-wide targets on super pollutants in their NDCs, for clarity and to send a signal to the finance community.
We can boost action further by reminding ourselves, and the world, that investments in cutting super pollutants bring multiple dividends. By decreasing air pollution, such investments could save millions of lives, reduce the burden on healthcare systems, protect nature and increase food security.
Excellencies,
Over the last year, the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) has deepened its role connecting these agendas, building enormous momentum through its growing network of 90 country partners. Since 2022, US$65 million has been deployed from the CCAC Trust Fund, supporting over 60 countries across 140 projects.
Now, seven months after a UNEA-6 resolution calling for increased cooperation on air quality, the CCAC has launched the Air Quality Management Exchange Platform – with contributions from the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, non-governmental organizations and your country teams.
This platform shows how collective effort and collective wisdom can deliver with speed. As a one-stop shop for air quality management guidance and tools, this platform can become a game-changer.
But we must, of course, push harder. As more data becomes available via satellite imagery, the CCAC will need to support countries to respond. So, I encourage further contributions to the Trust Fund.
Excellencies,
Each of us must use our influence to champion super pollutant action. By advocating the inclusion of super pollutants in NDCs. By telling governments, businesses and others of the multiple benefits of action. And, of course, by increasing our own efforts to slash super pollutants and bring the world on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
