Governments announce plans at COP30 to cut black carbon emissions. The leadership of these nine countries on addressing the potent super pollutant is a step forward for climate, health and local economies.

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Countries made a first-of-its-kind announcement to tackle major sources of black carbon emissions on the sidelines of COP30 in Belém, Brazil on Wednesday. Ministers and senior officials from Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Uganda revealed national policies and sectoral actions to advance action on black carbon. Actions range from integrating black carbon into climate strategies to targeted interventions in the electricity, transportation, and oil and gas sectors.

Also known as ‘soot’, black carbon is one of the super pollutants alongside methane that are responsible for half of global warming. The super pollutant also degrades air quality and harms human health, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Targeted action on black carbon and tropospheric ozone could mitigate an estimated 0.14°C by 2050.

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From super pollutant to solution

Black carbon’s impact goes beyond climate change – it pollutes the air in our communities and coats our lungs, contributing to millions of premature deaths and billions of economic costs from air pollution each year.

The super pollutant is also smothering the ecosystems that are vital to human and planetary life. Its particles in the air absorb the sun’s warmth, heating our climate and disrupting local weather patterns. And when those particles settle on snow and ice, they darken the surface and accelerate the melting of glaciers and sea ice.

It’s a global problem that is felt very close to home. Countries around the world are suffering from worsening air quality and extreme heat, both of which are driven by black carbon, with devastating consequences. Cutting black carbon and other super pollutants like methane and tropospheric ozone is our emergency brake on climate change.

Despite the distinct climate and health impacts of these emissions, black carbon has remained largely absent from the global climate agenda. Only US$824 million of development finance, less than 0.5% of total funding, went to projects tackling major sources of black carbon in 2023, according to Clean Air Fund's latest research.

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Countries step forward to protect people and planet

The announcement highlights countries’ leadership to effectively deliver climate, air quality and health benefits. The actions announced include:

• Canada shared a Climate Competitiveness Strategy with actions that will reduce black carbon from electricity, transport and oil and gas sectors. They mentioned the importance of capturing black carbon’s unique climate forcing on snow and ice.

• Chile highlighted their 25% black carbon emissions reduction target by 2030, from 2016 levels, in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), with additional sectoral actions on household energy and vehicle standards. The minister highlighted how a focus on black carbon has supported integration of climate and air quality policy and regulation.

• Colombia highlighted measurement and reporting on black carbon in their Biennial Transparency Report and highlighted their analysis of the health and economic impacts of black carbon emissions.

• Costa Rica’s updated NDC prioritises deep mitigation in the transport and energy sectors. Concrete measures to reduce emissions in black carbon-rich sectors include investment in public transport, deployment of electric passenger trains and scaling up charging infrastructure.

• Dominican Republic put a spotlight on the importance of measuring black carbon, which is informing national planning and implementation in energy, transport, agriculture and waste sectors. They expressed excitement on working with this peer network of countries to scale up ambition on black carbon.

• Nigeria has developed a new policy on clean cooking that will significantly cut black carbon emissions and look to increase implementation through the CCAC Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator.

• Madagascar announced a suite of plans on black carbon, including integration of black carbon into their NDC and the development of a national mitigation strategy.  This includes reducing open burning, increasing the dissemination of cookstoves and strengthening emissions standards for vehicles and small industries.

• Sri Lanka announced their new climate prosperity plan which includes black carbon and their new NDC which includes actions that will reduce black carbon, including an air pollution-related health action plan and a vehicle emissions testing programme. They called for support and cooperation towards a common vision of greater ambition on black carbon.

• Uganda announced a forthcoming National Black Carbon Action Plan, which will include targeted mitigation measures across high-emitting sectors and will be integrated into the country’s national climate plans.

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Representatives from the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank also welcomed the announcements.

The announcement marks an important step toward strengthened policies, expanded cooperation, and increased international support for reducing black carbon emissions. Participating countries committed to collaborate through a peer network, including technical exchange, shared learning, and joint advocacy.

The Clean Air Fund will provide support to the peer network going forward including action-focused dialogues. The Climate and Clean Air Coalition, working closely with Clean Air Fund, SLYCAN Trust and other partners, will support participating countries through links with the CCAC sectoral Hubs and the CCAC Super Pollutant Country Action Accelerator.

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Note: This press release has been published on Clean Air Fund and is available here.