3 April 2014: The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) has approved a new package of investments aimed at reducing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) in the transport, refrigeration, agriculture, waste management, oil and gas sectors. The CCAC will also undertake a global information campaign on the detrimental impact that indoor and outdoor air pollution has on health.

The approximately US$10 million investment is slated to fund a number of activities, inter alia: helping paddy rice farmers reduce methane emissions; inaugurating a global strategy for ports and maritime vessels; testing climate-friendly technologies in refrigeration and air-conditioning in Chile, Jordan and India; initiating two workstreams with the oil and gas industry to reduce emissions from flaring and venting; and addressing fuel standards, particularly for diesel engines, in the Western and Southern African regions.

On the detrimental health impact of indoor and outdoor air pollution, the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently released research approximating that seven million people died in 2012 from air pollution-related causes, will partner with the CCAC on the awareness campaign.

The decisions were made at the meeting of the CCAC Working Group, the Coalition’s partner group that oversees its activities. During the meeting, the CCAC’s Scientific Advisory Panel also agreed on its agenda, which will include preparing briefings on hydraulic fracturing, kerosene lamps, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other issues.

In addition, the Coalition approved five new partners: the Asian Institute of Technology; the European Investment Bank (EIB); the FIA Foundation; the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN; and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The CCAC is a partnership among governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders. The CCAC was launched by UNEP and a number of countries in 2012, with the goal of catalyzing rapid reductions in SLCPs, including black carbon or soot, methane, tropospheric ozone and some HFCs. UNEP hosts the CCAC Secretariat. [CCAC Press Release] [CCAC Website] [IISD RS Story on the WHO Estimates on Air Pollution]