Canada joins efforts to reduce ‘short-lived’ climate pollutants

Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent speaks at an event to launch “The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants” initiative February 16, 2012 in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department in Washington, D.C. (PHOTO BY MANDEL NGAN, AFP/GETTY IMAGES/ POSTMEDIA NEWS)

SHELDON ALBERTS
Postmedia News

WASHINGTON — Canada is joining a United States-led coalition aimed at reducing “short-lived” climate pollutants, with the Harper government committing $3 million to kick-start global talks about the problem.

Environment Minister Peter Kent joined Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Thursday to announce the modest international effort, which at present includes only the U.S., Canada, Bangladesh, Mexico, Sweden and Ghana.

The focus is on reducing methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons, short-lived pollutants that account for more than one third of current global warming.

Formation of the coalition marks a “critical step forward” in the fight against climate change, Kent said at a State Department news conference.

“Action on short-lived climate pollutants will have clear benefits for particularly vulnerable regions like the Canadian Arctic,” Kent said. “The fragile Arctic environment is susceptible to the impacts of short-lived climate pollutants which may be partly responsible for the accelerated warming trend that we are recording there.”

Said Clinton: “Today’s announcement, if we do everything we want to do and intend to do, will be looked back on as a real turning point.”

The coalition will operate under the umbrella of the United Nations Environment Program.

“It will mobilize resources, assemble political support, help countries develop and implement national action plans,” Clinton said.

“We have every hope that we will see results soon . . . If we can reduce (short-lived pollutants) significantly, we will have a noticeable effect on global warming.”

Participating nations will be looking for ways to reduce emissions of methane, for example, from sources like landfills, coal mines, the oil and gas industry and agriculture.

The effort will supplement existing efforts, including a global initiative to reduce pollutants from cook stoves.

Black carbon, or soot, from burning wood, coal and other substances contribute to health problems and early death in the world’s poorest nations, in addition to contributing to global warming.

Other actions could include efforts to reduce leakage from gas pipelines and dirty diesel vehicles.

“Millions die annually from breathing black carbon soot,” Clinton said.

In addition to Canada’s $3 million, the U.S. is contributing $15 million to the coalition.

According to the United Nations Environment Program, a global plan to reduce emissions of short-lived pollutants could curtail global warming by 0.5 degree Celsius by 2050.

That compares with the global goal of reducing global warming by two degrees Celsius by 2050.

“It’s significant,” Clinton said.