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Limiting global temperature increases to 1.5 °C while respecting ‘the right to health’ requires substantial reductions in Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), including methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons, and co-emitted air pollutants. This study evaluates the inclusion of SLCP and air pollutant mitigation within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that were submitted between 2015 and 2022.
Traffic congestion in São Paulo, Brazil. Photo: Levi Bianco / Getty Images
Between pre- and post-2020 NDCs, explicit reference to SLCPs and air pollutant mitigation as priorities more than doubled, indicating a rise in policy attention to these pollutants. There was also a large increase in the percentage of countries including methane and HFCs within the scope of their overall GHG reduction targets, and three countries include explicit black carbon reduction targets.
With respect to policy, there was a 45% increase in the number of specific mitigation measures included in NDCs post-2020. Hence, the number of countries with implicit reductions in SLCPs and other air pollutants covered in their NDCs is now also substantially larger compared to pre-2020, due to greater inclusion of mitigation measures that reduce SLCPs and air pollutants alongside (other) GHGs.
Initiative / This initiative enables integrated national planning for Nationally Determined Contributions and Sustainable Development Goals.
Past event / This AMCEN side event will present the findings from the Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution and Climate Change for Sustainable Development in Africa.
Project / The project works with the Bogotá Environmental Agency to develop diverse pathways for air quality management.
Journal article / This paper examines how actions in Zimbabwe's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) can achieve both enhanced emissions reductions and development benefits.
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