International cooperation to reduce black
carbon, methane and ground-level ozone
February 2012
INFORMATION LEAFLET FROM THE MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
The Swedish Government is working actively to promote reductions of emissions and formation of shortlived climate forcers. This work supplements ongoing
efforts to reduce emissions of long-lived greenhouse
gases under the UN Climate Convention and is
important for air quality, health, climate impact and
food security. Sweden has taken a global initiative
together with several other countries to reduce emissions of black carbon, methane and ground-level
ozone.
Short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs) is a collective term
for black carbon particles, ozone and methane. These
substances stay in the atmosphere a short time compared with, for example, carbon dioxide, which has a very
long-term impact on the climate. Measures that reduce
emissions and formation of SLCFs can therefore have a
relatively rapid effect.
Reducing concentrations of black carbon, methane
and ozone in the atmosphere has benefits for the climate and air quality, as well as for health and vegetation. In addition, it has a positive impact on the production of important agricultural crops.
The effects of reduced SLCF emissions are evident
after days or weeks at the regional level where the
measures are implemented. This means that it would
be possible to slow down continued global warming, at
least temporarily. As a result, valuable time would be
gained to enable necessary reductions of carbon dioxide
emissions into the atmosphere to begin to take effect.
It is important to note that action to reduce concentrations of SLCFs is not a substitute for reducing carbon
dioxide emissions. Action against climate forcers supplements the work on reducing emissions of carbon
dioxide and other long-lived greenhouse gases that is
being pursued under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
According to a Swedish-financed study by the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), broad
implementation of 16 existing measures to reduce
emissions of SLCFs over the period until 2030 could
have the following benefits:
• 2.4 million premature deaths due to outdoor air
pollution,and a further 1.6 million deaths due to
indoor air pollution, could be avoided each year;
• Annual harvest losses of rice, maize, soya beans
and wheat of 52 million tonnes per year could be
avoided as a result of lower concentrations of
ground-level ozone;
• Global warming could be reduced by up to 0.5
degrees by 2050 and warming in the Arctic by 0.7
degrees by 2040.
Global initiative to reduce SLCF emissions
Sweden, together with Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana,
Mexico and the United States, has initiated a global
partnership for reduced SLCF emissions. UNEP will
play an important role in the partnership by contributing in-depth analysis of scientific findings and support
for measures. The purpose of the partnership is to:
• Increase awareness of the advantages of taking
measures to reduce SLCF emissions;
• Identify and discuss common strategies for new
measures or promoting and reinforcing measures
taken by other organisations;
• Promote the development of national or regional
action plans and follow up the development of programmes and commitments;
• Mobilise funds for reducing SLCF emissions;
• Mobilise funds for regional platforms and for increasing private sector investments in emissions
reductions.
The aim is for more countries to join the partnership. In
order to participate countries will have to share the
initiative’s emissions reduction objectives and be willing to promote work on achieving them. Non-governmental organisations and representatives of the business sector are also welcome to participate on the same
conditions as countries.
Sweden’s active role
Sweden has taken a number of initiatives to reduce
SLCF emissions both at home and abroad. At national
level work is in progress to identify measures that can
further reduce these emissions. Wood burning is a
major source of black carbon emissions in Sweden and
diesel-driven vehicles and working machinery also
generate substantial emissions.
Within the Arctic Council, Sweden as Chair is actively seeking to prepare the ground for measures against
SLCFs in the Arctic. International agreements under
the UN’s maritime agency, the IMO, are important for
tackling black carbon emissions from shipping. In 2010,
Sweden, together with Norway and the United States,
submitted proposals to the IMO on measures to reduce
black carbon emissions from shipping in the Arctic. In
the longer term, Sweden hopes to persuade other IMO
Member States to agree to such regulations.
Within the framework of the UN Convention on
Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP),
which regulates emissions of air pollutants at regional
level, Sweden has urged for black carbon to be included
in decisions on a new agreement on emissions reductions up until 2020. A pre-requisite for successful work
on emission reductions is the availability of monitoring
and emissions data of satisfactory quality. Sweden is
therefore contributing to a methods development project that is now starting under the Convention. Sweden
is also taking the same position in the EU in connection
with the current review of EU air quality policy.
The Government provides financial support to the
work of the United Nations Environment Programme
to reduce SLCFs. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swedish
Energy Agency jointly support numerous projects in
the area in several developing countries. Sweden will
also support the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
(GACC). GACC is a programme for reducing sickness
and mortality due to air pollution from food preparation over open fires in developing countries.
The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) has been tasked to coordinate Swedish
action on short-lived climate forcers.
Production: Ministry of the Envronment
Photo: Fancy/Johnér Bildbyrå
Print by: XGS Grafisk service,
Stockholm, February 2012
Article no. M2012.03
SE-103 33 Stockholm • Ph +46 8 405 10 00
www.sweden.gov.se/environment