Tackling Black Carbon: How to Unlock Fast Climate and Clean Air Benefits

Reducing black carbon alongside other super pollutants is the fastest, most effective way to achieve near-immediate climate gains while improving air quality, public health, and the economy. The case for action is clear – proven solutions exist to cut emissions rapidly and at scale, but greater attention and urgency are essential.

Focusing on the sources of black carbon, characterised by dirty fuels and inefficient burning, offers an opportunity to deliver substantial climate, health, and social justice benefits at pace. By prioritising the most affected regions and communities, ranging from the billions of people relying on polluting fuels in their homes to Arctic Indigenous Populations and those living in wildfire-prone areas, we can make significant strides in both mitigating climate change and improving quality of life. Alongside deep decarbonisation, a targeted focus on black carbon draws together action on climate change and clean air, allowing efforts in one area to amplify progress in the other.

What should be prioritised to tackle black carbon as quickly as possible?

Our analysis shows that policy makers and experts should focus on three core areas:

1. Target the climate-related effects of black carbon, particularly in the cryosphere and other most impacted regions, to protect snow and ice and reduce rainfall disruptions and extreme heat. A good starting point is tackling black carbon-rich sectors in and around the Arctic (focusing on gas flaring, the shipping sector, and residential heating), accelerating a clean energy transition in and around the Himalayas and Andes, and financing cleaner brick kilns in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
2. Prioritise black carbon in clean air and energy policies by focusing on black carbon-rich sectors that will yield the greatest climate benefits, while delivering the health and economic benefits of reduced PM2.5. This includes clean air policies in on and off-road transport, supporting a just transition to cleaner energy for cooking, heating, and lighting and targeting informal industries and businesses that contribute to air pollution. Measuring and regulating black carbon, alongside PM2.5, in these interventions is key to understanding and maximising the climate benefits.’
3. Take coordinated action on super pollutants by targeting sectors with significant black carbon and other super pollutant emissions, such as holistic waste management solutions that cut both black carbon and methane and sustainable agriculture solutions that consider emissions of
   methane, nitrous oxide, and black carbon together.

Which approaches are needed to overcome blockages and prioritise black carbon reduction?

Tackling the black carbon challenge will require a coalition of key stakeholders, including international organisations, governments, financing institutions, philanthropic funders, and civil society actors to work together. Crucially, it will also require collaboration across climate change, air pollution, and health fields, with leaders working together to achieve multiple benefits. Stakeholders must adopt the following actions:

• Form a global caucus of countries committed to black carbon emission reductions and exhibit leadership to bridge the gap in global climate strategies and fast-track mitigation.
• Advance the development of binding and international frameworks on black carbon targeting opportunities in both global climate processes and regional environmental and air quality frameworks.
• Funds should be targeted towards scientific research to reduce observational and modeling uncertainties, and to produce more country-level black carbon emission inventories and enhance emission estimates.
• Rapidly scale up funding for black carbon emission reduction efforts across transport, industry, residential, and other sectors.
• Integrate specific black carbon targets into national action plans and NDCs, detailing implementation, funding, and progress measurement mechanisms.

Read the report for full recommendations.