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16 Feb 2012: U.S.-Led Program Targets
Reductions in Soot, Methane Emissions

With efforts to curb global carbon dioxide emissions stalled, a group of nations, including the U.S., will unveil a new program to cut other pollutants that contribute to global warming. The program, called the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, will focus on emissions of soot, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and other greenhouse gases that do not remain in the atmosphere as long as CO2 but are known to have significant environmental and health consequences. While the project will not set specific emissions targets, it will fund education projects and joint private-public efforts to reduce emissions, the Washington Post reports. According to sources familiar with the project, it will likely encourage nations to reduce diesel exhaust, end the burning of agricultural waste, and better capture landfill methane. The project will be administered by the United Nations Environment Programme. Other member nations include Canada, Sweden, Mexico, Ghana and Bangladesh. A recent study found that governments could shave nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit off the warming projected by mid-century — and prevent millions of premature deaths — by targeting emissions of methane and soot.

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