International Environmental NGOs Press Biden Administration for Action On Curbing Super Pollutants in First 100 Days
WASHINGTON, January 28, 2021 – A coalition of leading international environmental organizations, spearheaded by Clean Air Task Force, have sent a joint letter to top White House officials asking them to aggressively address the climate-damaging effects of super pollutants prior to President Biden’s Global Climate Summit, scheduled for Earth Day on April 22.
The letter is addressed to the senior members of President Biden’s Climate team — John Kerry, the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Gina McCarthy, the White House National Climate Advisor, and Michael Regan, the incoming Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
On Inauguration Day, the Biden Administration announced that the US would rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, setting a positive backdrop for its ambitious, comprehensive domestic and international climate programs. The NGOs are now calling on the administration to include early action on super pollutants, pollutants such as HFCs, black carbon, and methane, in the focus of the administration’s early actions on climate.
Super pollutants have a relatively short life in the atmosphere but an outsized impact on climate, responsible for over 45% of current warming, and reducing them offers a near-term climate win that can dramatically reduce the rate of warming.
The ripest target for immediate action is also the largest: methane. The groups specifically call on the Administration to target methane pollution from the oil and gas sector and to utilize existing authority to quickly cut methane emissions from this industry to 65% below 2012 levels by 2025. Internationally, the IEA estimates that global emissions from this industry can be cut by 75% by 2030, and the US must re-engage on methane through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, relaunching the Global Methane Alliance, and strengthening the International Methane Observatory.
Actions by the US on methane will augment a growing interest in reducing this harmful pollution. The European Union has committed to legislative action to target both domestic methane emissions as well as to develop policies to reduce methane from the gas the EU purchases. With both the Biden Administration and the European Commission prioritizing action on methane, there is a clear and exciting possibility of transatlantic collaboration and global progress.
Another harmful super pollutant, black carbon, can be addressed through clean fuel standards, transitioning to electric vehicles, reducing emissions from shipping, and improved agricultural practices. Internationally, heavy fuel oils for shipping are a major cause of black carbon pollution, especially in the Arctic, and can be addressed via the International Maritime Organization and other multinational regulatory bodies.
In the US, HFCs, a refrigerant with a powerful climate impact, have finally been addressed by new legislation that provides additional climate benefits by recovering, recycling, or destroying HFCs. Further, appliance efficiency standards can be raised to reduce the energy used by cooling equipment. Also, by moving quickly to ratify the Kigali Amendment, the State Department can solidify global action on HFCs.
In closing, the letter underscores the essential need to curb CO2 emissions that must go hand in hand with super pollutant mitigation, to ensure that the warming curve does not breach the 1.5 – 2-degree Celsius limits to protect against irreversible climate tipping points.
“To stabilize climate, we need serious surgery on the global energy system over the coming decades but reducing methane and other super pollutants is immediate First Aid that slows the bleeding,” said Armond Cohen, Founder and Executive Director of Clean Air Task Force. “We must act now as if the fate of the planet depends on it. Because it does.”
Signatories to the letter besides Clean Air Task Force include Center for Human Rights and Environment, Earthjustice, Earthworks, The Climate Group, Environmental Defense Fund, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club.
