Wellcome 25d ago

Carbon dioxide isn’t the only thing to blame for climate change. CO₂ is the original villain, but it only accounts for around half of global warming. The other half is largely down to super pollutants like methane, black carbon and tropospheric ozone. These hidden gases harm our planet and contribute to millions of deaths every year. However, this is still a climate story with hope. Because super pollutants don’t stick around for long in our atmosphere, we’ll notice the health and climate benefits pretty quickly once we reduce them. It’s going to take work, but there are policies and initiatives that every government can commit to today. In our newest explainer video, campaigner and environmental scientist Laura Anderson picks apart the three main super pollutants that every country should focus on – joined by Professor Drew Shindell and Assistant Professor Jonathan Buonocore. 📚 SOURCES AND READING: Read Wellcome’s written explainer on super pollutants: https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/what-are-super-pollutants-and-how-do-they-impact-our-health In the UK, toxic air is linked to around 30,000 deaths every year: https://www.rcp.ac.uk/media/5r2kmmi4/rcp-full-report-a-breath-of-fresh-air-responding-to-the-health-challenges-of-modern-air-pollution.pdf In 2024, WHO said that the combined effects of ambient air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health Another explainer on super pollutants and our health: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/video/meet-super-pollutants For more info on the causes of black carbon: https://www.ccacoalition.org/short-lived-climate-pollutants/black-carbon For more info on the causes of methane emissions: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/methane-emissions For more info on the causes of tropospheric ozone (ground-level ozone): https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-are-volatile-organic-compounds-vocs To read more about the Global Methane Pledge: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2022/the-global-methane-pledge 🔔 Subscribe to Wellcome on YouTube: https://wellc.me/3Blh0c1 💬 SOCIAL MEDIA: Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/wellcome-trust/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellcometrust/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/WellcomeTrust Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/wellcometrust.bsky.social/ Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellcometrust 🔗 MORE FROM WELLCOME: Wellcome is a global charitable foundation. We want everyone to benefit from science’s potential to improve health and save lives. Read our latest stories, opinions and reports: https://wellcome.org/news-and-reports Learn more about our work: https://wellcome.org/what-we-do Find our latest funding opportunities: https://wellcome.org/grant-funding