On April 24, 2012, a new international coalition – the 13-member Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) – approved its first initiatives to reduce emissions of highly potent greenhouse gases including methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The decision came at the CCAC’s first meeting, held in Stockholm on the sidelines of a larger ministerial meeting on sustainable development. Starting with seven members in February (US, Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden and the UN Environment Program), CCAC recently added six new participants (Colombia, Japan, Nigeria, Norway, the European Commission and the World Bank). Australia, Korea, UK, Finland and Denmark attended the first CCAC meeting as observers.
On methane, CCAC members agreed to look for ways to work with the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions from leaks, venting and flaring, and to work with cities to reduce landfill methane emissions. The members also agreed to reduce black carbon, or soot, emissions from diesel engines which are the leading source of global black carbon emissions. The CCAC will also seek to cut emissions from inefficient old brick kilns, which are a major source of soot in developing nations. For HFCs, the coalition will look to fund efforts to accelerate deployment of more environmentally friendly alternatives.
While such programs may be relatively small compared with broader efforts to cut global GHG emissions, they could have a significant effect as the targeted GHGs account for about 30% of current climate impacts.
Norway and Sweden today each agreed to contribute $1.5 million to the coalition’s efforts, bringing total initial funding to $16.7 million. The US is the largest source of funding, providing $12.5 million over two years.