Pollution affects climate change primarily through the emission of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) that alter the Earth's atmospheric composition and energy balance. Key ways pollution impacts climate change:
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and tropospheric ozone trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming. CO2 from burning fossil fuels and deforestation is the main driver of climate change
- Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs): Methane, black carbon (soot), and tropospheric ozone are powerful climate forcers with a much higher warming potential than CO2 over short periods. For example, methane is about 84 times more potent than CO2, and black carbon absorbs sunlight, warming the atmosphere and accelerating ice melt
- Aerosols and Particulate Matter: Some particulate pollutants can have complex effects, either warming or cooling the climate depending on their composition. Aerosols can influence temperature, precipitation patterns, and how much sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, thereby affecting climate systems regionally
- Feedback Loops: Pollution contributes to climate change, which in turn exacerbates air pollution through increased wildfires, droughts, and heatwaves, creating a vicious cycle that harms ecosystems, agriculture, and human health
- Common Sources: Many sources of air pollution, such as fossil fuel combustion for power generation, transport, and industry, also emit greenhouse gases, linking air quality and climate change closely
Reducing emissions of both CO2 and SLCPs is critical to mitigating climate change. Policies targeting air pollution often yield co-benefits for climate by lowering greenhouse gases and improving public health
. In summary, pollution contributes to climate change by releasing greenhouse gases and climate-forcing pollutants that trap heat, alter atmospheric chemistry, and disrupt climate patterns, thereby accelerating global warming and its associated impacts
