Chelsea and Fulham were identified as having the highest concentration of pollution hotspots.
Super-pollutants – including methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – are responsible for roughly half of all global warming-causing emissions. edie partnered with the Global Heat Reduction Initiative (GHRI) for an online event explaining why businesses should be focusing on emissions beyond purely carbon.
Led by Kiff Gallagher, Executive Director of the Global Heat Reduction Initiative (GHRI), and joined in the Q&A by Jennifer Norfolk (Senior Director, Partnerships Development) and Dr Katie Kaku (Senior Technical Director), the session explored why businesses should consider implementing super-pollutant strategies into their climate plans, and how viewers should build an internal case for action.
Click here to watch the webinar in full, on-demand.
Alternatively, read on for a summary of some of the key takeaways from the event.
Super-pollutants are the ‘invisible half’ of climate risk
In his introductory presentation, Gallagher set out a clear picture of the dangers of super-pollutants to the environment. Despite most companies focusing their climate action on long-term CO2 reduction, super-pollutants cause around 50% of today’s warming, with up to a 150x potential for warming against CO2 in the short-term.
Despite the significance of these emissions, super-pollutants are often excluded or undercounted in CO2e inventories based on 100-year warming potential, such as the industry standard metric, the GWP100.
It was noted that businesses should begin by identifying where these super-pollutants exist in their operations and supply chain – particularly, for instance, in cold storage, combustion processes, transport and organic waste.
Once identified, they could then be quantified using specialist tools such as Total Climate Accounting – a framework created by GHRI to address gaps in current metrics and incorporate pollutants such as methane and black carbon.
Incoming regulation
The IPCC’s forthcoming 2027 Assessment Report (AR7) will include guidance on measuring short-lived climate pollutants, and is expected to influence national GHG inventories and nationally determined contributions, key frameworks like the GHG Protocol, SBTi, and ISO standards, and corporate reporting requirements under EU and global regulations.
Businesses that focus solely on CO2, Gallagher, stated, risk falling foul of emerging compliance pressures that will put greater focus on super-pollutants. They could also, he said, miss out on near-term efficiency, reputational and climate gains as a result.
The action for businesses here was clear: That internalising super-pollutant activities in climate metrics was critical to meet future standards, even if they are not currently mandatory for disclosure. Staying ahead of regulation was vital to remaining prepared and avoid unnecessary expense.
Taking action is simple
Gallagher and Dr Kaku said that while businesses often fear additional complexity in their Scope 3 reporting, there are clear steps a business can take to begin addressing these pollutants and implementing them in sustainability strategies.
First, super-pollutant assessments can start from existing inventories, using secondary factors to produce ‘good enough’ estimates which identify priority hotspots. Second, engaging suppliers in a targeted manner can focus action around a few key stakeholders (for example cold-chain logistics of combustion-heavy processes), rather than requiring a transformation of the entire value chain. Finally, they noted, the area is currently ahead of regulation – meaning companies have time to start measuring these footprints internally and confidentially, before deciding to disclose externally.
Near-term climate emissions gains are measurable
Gallagher discussed the benefits of CO2e tools for measuring climate gains, including the Total Climate Accounting platform. This, he noted, is backed by peer-reviewed and, unlike other traditional such tools, additionally measures radiative forcing (the direct heating effect of emissions); reveals how mitigation efforts translate into degrees of temperature avoided between now and 2050 – not just tonnes of CO2; and allows businesses to make decisions based on short-term heat reduction, not just long-term emissions targets.
