Government of Canada pledges $35 million to combat short-lived climate pollutants

The government of Canada announced on Tuesday that it is contributing $35 million to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).

The announcement was made at the High Level Assembly for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition at the United Nations’ 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said in a statement.

SLCPs, which are known to cause respiratory and other negative health effects and include substances such as black carbon, methane and some hydrofluorocarbons, have a relatively short lifespan in the atmosphere compared to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other longer-lived GHGs, ECCC explained in the statement. They also play an important role in climate change: since atmospheric levels of short-lived substances respond relatively quickly to changes in emissions, actions to reduce SLCPs can reduce the rate of near-term global warming.

Of the $35 million funding, $25 million will help to reduce SLCPs through mitigation actions with key partner countries, including through projects that aim to reduce black carbon emissions to benefit the Arctic, the statement said.

The remaining $10 million will be directed to the Climate and Clear Air Coalition’s trust fund. The fund supports the development and implementation of the organization’s programs and initiatives in developing countries and the “funding will enable the coalition to continue its critical work on SLCPs,” the statement said.

Canada is a founder of the coalition and one of the largest contributors to its trust fund. There are currently more than 109 partners in the coalition, including 49 states, 16 intergovernmental and 44 non-governmental organizations.

The announcement is part of Canada’s pledge of $2.65 billion over the next five years to support the transition to low-carbon economies that are both greener and more climate resilient.

“Canada is proud to be part of a vast international network of countries and organizations working to reduce short-lived climate pollutants,” said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, in the statement. “Sustained reductions can help slow the rate of warming, globally and in sensitive regions such as the Arctic.”