To effectively combat climate change, we must address all greenhouse gases and pollutants contributing to global warming—not just carbon dioxide (CO₂). While CO₂ remains a key focus due to its long-term impact, other highly potent warming agents, known as super pollutants, are accelerating atmospheric warming at a much faster rate. These include methane, black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons, and tropospheric ozone. Super pollutants are responsible for approximately half of the warming observed today.
Tackling these pollutants alongside CO₂ is essential to achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Despite their potential to cover a substantial portion of mitigation costs, project developers are not utilizing carbon markets to their advantage on a large enough scale. Carbon markets are a powerful lever that can incentivize the mitigation of SPs; however, to realize their potential, we need effective communication surrounding the potential environmental and financial benefits of SP mitigation projects along with high-integrity SP methodologies and MRV systems.
