COP30: Short-Lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs)

Recommendations

• Reduce emissions from combustion. Improve technology, process control and automation in small-scale facilities to lower emissions from both fossil and renewable fuels.
• Reduce emissions across the fossil fuel value chain. Minimise emissions from extraction, production and distribution of fossil fuels and materials, as well as from the transport and fuel distribution sectors.
• Improve waste management and utilisation. Optimise the handling and use of all waste streams to minimise emissions and maximise material recovery and circularity.
• Strengthen the knowledge base. Increase research on the effects of short-lived climate forcers.
• Improve climate models. Ensure that models include both warming and cooling drivers, and that the effects are assessed separately for each component.
• Develop policy and technology. Establish clear requirements, support innovation, and implement measures to reduce anthropogenic emissions of SLCFs to an acceptable level by 2050.

Current situation

Anthropogenic short-lived climate forcers originate from energy production, the use of fossil and renewable fuels, extraction and distribution of fossil resources, process industries, waste management, agriculture, commercial activity and households, as well as from transport on land, at sea and in the air. Global warming also increases natural sources of SLCFs, for example through more frequent and intense wildfires.

Some particles, such as sulphates and nitrates, cool the atmosphere by reflecting sunlight. Others, like black carbon (soot), cause warming — particularly when deposited on snow and ice, where they reduce surface reflectivity. In addition, gases such as methane (CH₄), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO) contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone (O₃), which is a powerful greenhouse gas. Methane is the most important of the short-lived greenhouse gases, with a longer lifetime than the others, and is therefore discussed in a separate chapter.

The IPCC has placed SLCFs on its agenda and is currently preparing a report to help countries include these pollutants in their national emissions inventories. Many countries lack reliable data on SLCF emissions, which makes it difficult to model their effects on global warming and air quality. Unlike CO₂, the impact of SLCFs depends strongly on regional conditions and where the emissions occur.

Solution

Reducing emissions from short-lived climate forcers is essential both to improve air quality and to curb the rapid warming observed today. Because these substances remain in the atmosphere only briefly, mitigation measures can deliver fast climate benefits.

A wide range of actions is needed — from energy-efficient combustion and cleaner technology in transport and industry, to improved waste management and reduced use of fossil fuels. Combustion processes must be optimised, leaks in fossil fuel value chains sealed, and the use of polluting fuels in households and small-scale industry phased out.

At the same time, knowledge and monitoring must be strengthened. Better data are needed to understand where emissions originate and how they affect both climate and human health. Climate models must include both warming and cooling drivers to provide more accurate projections.

With a comprehensive focus on technology, knowledge, policy and circular resource use, emissions of short-lived climate forcers can be reduced to levels that are sustainable for both climate and health — delivering rapid and measurable benefits in the fight against global warming.