World leaders can no longer afford to overlook black carbon

The document highlights the severe economic and health costs of black carbon, noting that in China, short-term exposure in 2017 cost over US$7.5 billion and long-term exposure over US$53 billion. It asserts that reducing black carbon is a "triple win" that would protect glaciers, save millions of lives—including over 400,000 annually in India and nearly half a million in Sub-Saharan Africa—and improve gender equality by reducing the US$800 billion annual loss in women's productivity caused by unclean cooking fuels. Despite these benefits, the author notes that only 12 countries included black carbon targets in their first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and warns that transportation-related emissions in Africa could double by 2040.

• Black carbon causes significant economic losses, specifically in China where 2017 short-term exposure cost more than US$7.5 billion and long-term exposure resulted in losses exceeding US$53 billion.
• Reducing black carbon emissions provides substantial health benefits, potentially saving over 400,000 lives annually in India and nearly 500,000 premature deaths each year in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The use of unclean cooking fuels leads to a global loss of US$800 billion in women's productivity annually; transitioning to clean fuel would improve gender equality and protect biodiversity, particularly in East Africa.
• Global governmental action is insufficient, with only 12 countries setting black carbon reduction targets in their first Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and transportation-related emissions in Africa are projected to double by 2040.

APA

Jameel, Y. (2024). World leaders can no longer afford to overlook black carbon. Project Drawdown. https://drawdown.org/insights/world-leaders-can-no-longer-afford-to-overlook-black-carbon

Chicago

Jameel, Yusuf. World leaders can no longer afford to overlook black carbon. Project Drawdown, 2024. https://drawdown.org/insights/world-leaders-can-no-longer-afford-to-overlook-black-carbon.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jameel |first1=Yusuf |title=World leaders can no longer afford to overlook black carbon |publisher=Project Drawdown |date=24 April 2024 |url=https://drawdown.org/insights/world-leaders-can-no-longer-afford-to-overlook-black-carbon |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jameel2024world, author = {Jameel, Yusuf}, title = {{World leaders can no longer afford to overlook black carbon}}, publisher = {Project Drawdown}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://drawdown.org/insights/world-leaders-can-no-longer-afford-to-overlook-black-carbon}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }