How the Global Heat Reduction Initiative unlocks “fast mode” in the fight against climate change

Time to go faster on curbing climate change. The summer of 2024 was the warmest on record for the Northern hemisphere – again. Nine of the ten hottest years on the books fell in the last decade. Expectations are that 2024 will set another record. Despite our climate efforts, we’re losing ground instead of gaining it.

We can arrest runaway global warming, by targeting climate super pollutants now. That’s why we recently launched Global Heat Reduction Initiative (GHR). “Our goal is to help business and organizations of all stripes speed up the fight against global warming,” said Executive Director Kiff Gallagher. “By acting on the most potent heat drivers, we can see results in years, not decades.”  

Did you know that roughly half of all current anthropogenic global warming is caused by climate super pollutants such as methane, black carbon, and HCFs? Or that methane alone is responsible for about 30 percent of all warming since the industrial Revolution? As we step up efforts to reduce carbon emissions, simultaneously tackling super pollutants  will provide the turbo boost we need now: 

• Super pollutants are many times more potent than CO2. Methane is 150 times stronger in the first year it is emitted. Black carbon up to 52,000 times.  
• But they are also short-lived. While CO2 heats up the atmosphere for centuries, methane disappears within 10-12 years and black carbon within days.
• This means bigger near-term results. One tonne of avoided black carbon emissions this year is more than 8 times more powerful by 2030 than by avoiding 1000 tonnes of CO2. 

What GHR is doing: GHR offers a game-changing, peer-reviewed climate accounting method based on the latest IPCC science, clarifying the actual heat impacts of any climate driver over both the short and the long term. It’s something conventional climate accounting methods can’t do, and it underpins GHR’s new services: 

• Registry: GHR recently launched a climate registry to finance super pollutant reduction projects that have been undervalued by carbon markets and enable buyers to make heat reduction claims on their path to net zero.
• Footprinting: Providing the most complete climate footprints available today, assessing not only CO2 and other greenhouse gases, but also traditionally overlooked super pollutants and even changes in the earth’s heat reflectivity (albedo), over any time frame. This new, actionable data helps users to make more informed mitigation investment decisions.  
• Advisory: Offering expert insight and analysis to support public and private organizations as they develop climate strategies and investments, including heat impact assessments of development and infrastructure projects.  

Why this matters: “The next decade is crucial,” said Gallagher. “To avoid irreversible climate tipping points, we must act fast and with the best information available.  With GHR, corporations and governments can now do so in a smart, cost-effective manner.”

The long view: While slashing super pollutants can give us a big boost, getting to net zero on CO2 by 2050 remains paramount. Fortunately, super pollutant reductions are feasible with existing, off-the-shelf technologies. There is no reason that we can’t do both at the same time. 

Contact GHR today