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UNEP Urges Int’l Solidarity to Combat Short-Lived Climate Pollutants

Andersen observed that lethargic action on short-lived climate pollutants would deny humanity a sustainable and resilient future, stressing that leveraging science, policy, and practice is key to accelerating their phaseout…reports Asian Lite News

International solidarity will be key to phasing out short-lived climate pollutants or super pollutants that include methane, black carbon, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), senior United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) officials said.

Inger Andersen, the UNEP’s executive director, said on Wednesday at the opening of the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Conference in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, that eliminating these gases which harm the ozone layer has worsened air pollution and are detrimental to human health calls for unified action, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We must deliver action on super pollutants to help achieve net zero goal, protect the ozone layer, and improve air quality,” Andersen said, noting that multilateralism is key to hastening the phaseout of short-lived climate pollutants.

The two-day Climate and Clean Air Conference 2024 has brought together policymakers, scientists and green campaigners to discuss best practices to curb the emission of super pollutants from agriculture, fossil fuels, household cooling, and heavy-duty vehicle engines. It will be a precursor to the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6) to be held in Nairobi from February 26 to March 1 under the theme of “effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”.

Andersen observed that lethargic action on short-lived climate pollutants would deny humanity a sustainable and resilient future, stressing that leveraging science, policy, and practice is key to accelerating their phaseout.

She singled out the Global Methane Pledge, the Clean Air Flagship, and the Kigali Amendment as effective multilateral instruments whose implementation will revitalise efforts to eliminate super pollutants from the atmosphere.

Rose Mwebaza, regional director for Africa at UNEP, said that harmonising policies and laws, leveraging technology, research, and advocacy is key to sustaining action on short-lived climate pollutants.

Mwebaza called for remodeling sectors responsible for emitting super pollutants, including cooling, agriculture, manufacturing, and transport to boost air quality, climate resilience, and human health.

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UNEP chief lauds India’s ‘bold’ pledges and actions on massive energy transition

Plastic pollution is a global scourge that we must all act on, and in so doing, we tackle climate change, we tackle biodiversity loss, and we tackled pollution and waste… Inger Andersen speaks with Vishal Gulati

xxx The world looks to India on several fronts. In recent years, it created a massive expansion in renewable energy. India’s effort at promoting LED lighting for example is a huge success story. This has brought big savings in power use, greenhouse gas emissions and household bills.

These were the views of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen in an exclusive interview with, a day ahead of the resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) — the world’s parliament on the environment — that will see representatives of the 193 Member States of the United Nations, business leaders, civil society and environmentalists in Nairobi, Kenya.

The resumed session which will run till March 2 with countries attempting to find solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the earth.

Praising India’s ‘bold’ pledges and actions, Danish economist and environmentalist Andersen, who took up her new role as Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme on June 15, 2019, told IANS India has also taken steps to control plastic pollution, including bans on single-use plastic and strengthening extended producer responsibility.

“India has also committed to restoring 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.”

Prior to joining UNEP, Andersen was the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and held various leadership roles at the World Bank.

She believes India, like every nation, must do more.

“And doing more is in the best interests of the entire nation. IEA (International Energy Agency) studies show that a transition to net-zero carbon can catalyze new industries, create millions of jobs, and drive trillions of dollars of economic value.”

Quoting a recent World Economic Forum estimate, she says India’s decarbonization journey represents a $15 trillion economic opportunity by 2070. “This journey could create as many as 50 million net new jobs. With an estimated 10 million Indians having lost their jobs from the second wave of the pandemic, investing in ecosystem restoration becomes even more important for sustaining household incomes.

“As India assumes the leadership of the G20, here too we see a big role for the country to make a massive push for sustainability. After all, the G20 accounts for 78 per cent of global emissions. When the G20 moves, so too will the world.”

On India’s announcement to eliminate 20 identified single-use plastics in the country from July 1, the UNEP chief said, “Plastic pollution is a global scourge that we must all act on, and in so doing, we tackle climate change, we tackle biodiversity loss, and we tackled pollution and waste.”

This month India notified extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for plastic packaging, with an aim to collect, and recycle plastics, and to ensure use of recycled plastics in packaging. It also provided clear targets for businesses to move towards sustainable plastic packaging.

“This is promising,” she said, “But we all know that plastic pollution is not a problem we can recycle our way out of.”

“We need a system change that addresses the full life cycle of plastics, from the extraction of raw materials to alternatives to improved waste management. We need to be innovative and eliminate products that are unnecessary, avoidable or problematic. Design products for reuse and recycling and ensure this happens. Remove hazardous additives.”

“Yes, absolutely India’s electrical vehicle (EV) policy has renewable energy targets,” she remarked.

“Poor air quality is the reality of life in more than 75 per cent of Indian cities. This despite significant progress on clean cooking fuels and a programme to control ambient air pollution. Based on global estimates, more than 1 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in India in 2019.

“By affecting children’s health and development, air pollution threatens India’s future growth and development. Electric vehicles are a critical part of the solution to climate change and air pollution. However, it is important that we look at how to power these vehicles from renewable sources.

“India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan aims to enable the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. Many states in India have now launched their electric vehicle policies. At COP26, India announced the country’s intention to meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030.

“And such commitments need to be accompanied by ramping up EV infrastructure and providing incentives to charging providers, promoting inter-state transmission of renewable energy, incentivising renewable energy for running EVs, and so on,” Andersen said.

One of the most significant aspects of this Assembly (UNEA-5) will be the deliberations on the possible establishment of an international negotiating committee to kick-start work towards a global, legally-binding agreement to address plastic pollution.

Given the scale of the global plastic pollution crisis, the discussions between Member States and the private sector, civil society, and other participants could represent the most important development on the global environmental agenda since the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Assembly will consider other critical issues, including chemical waste and nitrogen management, nature-based solutions and biodiversity and the circular economy.

ALSO READ-UNEP Chief Lauds India’s Green Economy

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UNEP, EU launch Methane Observatory to boost climate action

“Methane reductions must go hand in hand with actions to decarbonize the energy system to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsuis, as called for in the Paris Agreement,” Andersen added…reports Asian Lite News.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Commission have launched an observatory to reduce emission of methane gas into the atmosphere.

UNEP said in a statement issued on the eve of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow that the launch of International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) marked a significant milestone in efforts to green the planet.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said cutting down on methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry will help avert the worst impacts of climate change to livelihoods and vital ecosystems.

“Methane reductions must go hand in hand with actions to decarbonize the energy system to limit warming to 1.5 degree Celsuis, as called for in the Paris Agreement,” Andersen added.

According to UNEP, methane emission is responsible for about one quarter of the current global warming and when the gas is directly released into the atmosphere, it is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time horizon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nevertheless, since methane’s atmospheric lifespan is relatively short, robust measures to cut its emission would yield immediate results in terms of halting global warming and delivering air quality, says UNEP.

The launch of the observatory on Sunday will help improve accuracy and transparency in reporting the magnitude of its release into the atmosphere and the impact on global warming.

At the initial stages, the observatory will focus on methane emissions from the fossil fuel sector and later expand to cover agriculture and waste sectors, according to UNEP.

The observatory is expected to produce verified and accurate data on methane emissions in the fossil fuel sector to help inform mitigation efforts by governments and industry.

Hosted by UNEP, the International Methane Emissions Observatory will operate on a 100 million euros (about 115.6 million $) budget over five years, but it will not receive industry funding in order to maintain its impartiality.

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