Drawdown Lift

Key Report Takeaways:  Black carbon is a powerful climate pollutant which stems from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass Black carbon has unparalleled impacts on human well-being, the environment, and climate change   Black carbon has a short-term warming potential up to 1,500 times greater than carbon dioxide and is responsible for millions of premature deaths annually worldwide Black carbon emissions are highest in low- and middle-income countries with half of all emissions coming from just five countries Around 48% of all black carbon emissions are attributable to the residential sector, particularly from the use of dirty cooking fuels Targeted solutions across the residential, transportation, and industrial sectors in high-emitting regions would dramatically reduce black carbon emissions while preventing millions of premature deaths and saving trillions of dollars per year  In a report published today, scientists from Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, provide the most comprehensive look yet at how addressing black carbon – more commonly known as soot – would reduce global warming while preventing millions of premature deaths and saving trillions of dollars annually worldwide.  Black carbon, which largely results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and organic matter used for cooking, transportation, industrial production, and more, is a major pollutant and greenhouse gas with a short-term warming potential up to 1,500 times greater than carbon dioxide.  Worldwide, black carbon is responsible for millions of premature deaths annually, increasing the risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, and other diseases. This results in the loss of trillions of US dollars globally in economic productivity each year. These impacts are felt most acutely in low- and middle-income countries, which still rely heavily on unclean fuels, such as wood, for heating, cooking, and energy production.  In the groundbreaking report, Project Drawdown researchers highlight global hotspots and sources of black carbon across geographies providing policymakers and funders with the best insight yet into what solutions, deployed where, will result in the greatest emissions reductions.

Halting climate change, alleviating poverty, and stemming the loss of biodiversity are some of the most critical challenges humanity faces today. With finite resources to invest in addressing them, how do we decide where to focus our efforts? Good news: We don’t have to pick one or another! Project Drawdown has identified a set of specific technologies and practices that address multiple challenges simultaneously and synergistically, creating an exciting opportunity for funders and development agencies to dramatically amplify impact while working to address the world’s most pressing needs. In this latest Drawdown Ignite webinar, climate-poverty solutions scientist Yusuf Jameel and policy advisor Dan Jasper introduce these “triple-win” solutions and explore how strategic deployment in low- and middle-income countries can bring new hope for a better world within our lifetimes. Top Takeaways Solutions to three massive threats humanity faces today – climate change, poverty, and biodiversity loss – overlap, and numerous actions can address all three at the same time. Efforts to alleviate poverty can increase or decrease demand for fossil fuels. As development proceeds, it’s critical to avoid “carbon lock-in” by favoring renewable over carbon dioxide–producing technologies. Climate change and biodiversity loss are intricately intertwined. Climate change exacerbates biodiversity loss, and biodiversity loss exacerbates climate change. Thus, efforts to alleviate both simultaneously can have synergistic effects. For greatest impacts, funding and action should focus on solutions that address multiple challenges at the same time. For example, shifting agricultural practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can also enhance food supply, improve gender equality, and protect habitat. The ability to do so is unfortunately limited by inadequate funding, inappropriate use of available funding, and inequitable distribution of available funding. Solutions include increasing funding for projects that address multiple challenges simultaneously, living up to funding pledges, increasing accountability to ensure funds are appropriately distributed, basing funding decisions on sound science, pursuing the greatest good rather than the greatest profit, and canceling debts owed by low and middle-income countries.  Anyone can help by sharing this message with policymakers and joining advocacy organizations that recognize the importance of and promote intersectional action. Useful Resources Climate–Poverty Connections: Opportunities for Synergistic Solutions at the Intersection of Planetary and Human Well-Being Desperate for hope? Linking human well-being and climate solutions is a way forward The win-wins of climate and biodiversity solutions Reflections from Bonn: Climate negotiations must face reality and rebuild credibility A rescue plan for people and the planet New IPCC report highlights urgent need to advance climate solutions and development simultaneously Key takeaways from Drawdown Lift’s Climate–Poverty Connections webinar series This webinar is part of Project Drawdown’s monthly Drawdown Ignite webinar series. Drawdown Ignite provides information and inspiration to guide your climate solutions journey. View past Drawdown Ignite webinars on YouTube, and visit our Events page for updates on future webinars.

Last month, Project Drawdown policy advisor Dan Jasper attended climate negotiations in Bonn to promote climate solutions that also improve human well-being. Hosted by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the negotiations in Bonn provided a space for technical conversations in the lead-up to COP28. Sitting in a surreal daze, I couldn’t help but look back and forth between the conference screen and my phone. On the conference screen, delegates argued about the importance of including historical emissions data in the upcoming Global Stocktake report (the first assessment of how far we’ve come since the Paris Agreement). One delegate chided the suggestion that the data be included, stating it would be “confusing for the public.” On my phone screen, texts from friends back home in Washington, D.C., with chilling pictures of the wildfire smoke blanketing the National Mall and iconic monuments. One text from a friend in New York offered an orange view from her hotel room; the text read simply, “Our world is dying.” This seemed to contradict the delegate’s point. Climate change is visible now; it’s no longer hidden by the depth of science, it’s a lived reality for much of the planet. The dual screens before me painted a clear picture: The focus of these talks must shift to urgent, scalable solutions for people and the planet, or these forums will lose all buy-in from many countries and the public. That scene is, unfortunately, indicative of the confusing lack of progress made in Bonn this year. Parties (read “countries”) failed to even agree on an agenda until the second to last day of the two-week conference. While conversations carried on under provisional agendas for subsidiary bodies, the clash over the program reveals a widening chasm between countries that want to focus on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions (mainly high-income countries, or HICs) and those that want to focus on adapting as well as dealing with the losses and damages that climate change has already brought for many of the world’s most vulnerable (mainly low- and middle-income countries, or LMICs).