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Focus on rapid climate mitigation
Of all man-made emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2) has the most significant effect on global warming. CO2 also stays in our atmosphere for centuries. However, CO2 is not the only emission that has a powerful warming effect. Other, often neglected, climate forcers include black carbon (soot), tropospheric ozone, and fluorinated gases (F-gases) such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The time these gases and airborne particles stay in our atmosphere is much shorter than CO2; this means that effective regulation of these other climate forcers, implemented now, would result in relatively rapid reductions in temperature increases. We call this rapid climate mitigation. Rapid climate mitigation is a brilliant opportunity to slow global warming now. It is comparatively easy and cost-effective compared to lessening CO2 emissions. As a complementary strategy to aggressive action on CO2 it can buy the planet more time before we reach key tipping points in the earth’s thermostat - such as the melting of the arctic and glaciers. ClientEarth is making this work a priority because while the destructive warming effects of these emissions are stated by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), black carbon and tropospheric ozone are not currently regulated in either the Kyoto or EU climate frameworks. Our vision is for the EU to show leadership by putting greater emphasis on rapid climate mitigation in climate policy, so that in addition to long-term targets for CO2 reductions we can address near-term climate impacts such as those in the arctic. ClientEarth lawyers have been mobilizing legal and policy expertise to increase the emphasis on rapid climate mitigation in EU law. Our work on F-gases, resulting from extensive technical legal analysis, will be followed by legal recommendations on black carbon and ozone.
Read ClientEarth’s press release on F-gases and te EU 2050 low-carbon roadmap |
