CENTER FOR CLEAN AIR POLICY

Short-term Impacts
Short-lived climate pollutants like methane, black carbon and HFCs, are potent climate forcers and harmful air pollutants that have an outsized impact on climate change in the near-term. Compared to CO2 and other long-lived climate pollutants, which stay in the atmosphere for centuries, short-lived climate pollutants have shorter lifetimes, but also have a much larger warming impact on a gram-to-gram basis. In addition to significantly reducing the rate of climate change in the near-term, reducing emissions of potent super-pollutants is necessary for reaching the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, alongside significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.

Access to Financing
International climate finance support can help countries to develop climate mitigation and adaptation programs, especially in light of implementing a country’s national climate plan. The challenge, however, continues to be developing proposals that combine policy reforms and financial mechanisms to mobilize additional financial resources and that can lead to a paradigm shift towards low-carbon development.

Carbon markets
Flexible, market-based approaches to reducing air pollution have a strong track record in lowering emissions and offer an important tool to do so cost-effectively.

Transportation and Smart Growth
Staving off the most severe impacts of global climate change will require deep reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all economic sectors. Transportation GHG emissions are a result of what CCAP refers to as a ‘three legged stool’ — vehicles, fuels and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Vigorous progress on all three fronts is critical for climate protection, to increase resilience to rising oil prices and to sustain our economy and communities.

1. NDC Implementation – Developing projects and programs that have real impact at the local and national level to help countries reach their climate goals. Further, CCAP’s Super-Pollutant Program focuses on reducing methane emissions from the waste and oil and gas sectors. We also have projects addressing black carbon from heavy duty trucks and spurring replacement of HFCs in the refrigeration and air conditioning sectors.
2. Climate Finance –Much of CCAP’s work with developing countries is aimed at identifying opportunities to reform policies and establish necessary institutional arrangements to promote low-carbon development, and to design effective financial mechanisms that can mobilize private sector investment.
3. Carbon markets –Since its inception, CCAP has worked with stakeholders in the United States and around the world to understand the pros and cons of different market-based approaches and design effective solutions tailored to the target pollutant(s) and policy context. Current work focuses on internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs.

CCAP has over 30 years of experience and experts in every area of our work.

Short-term Impacts
CCAP-supported projects reduce emissions of potent super-pollutants such as methane and black carbon.

Access to Financing
CCAP is conducting a series of workshops to help build the Peruvian government's capacity to engage with the Green Climate Fund.

Carbon markets
CCAP is currently working with a number of countries to better understand different ways the Article 6 market mechanism can meet the Paris Agreement requirements and support higher ambition.

Transportation and Smart Growth
CCAP is working in Colombia to implement TOD pilot projects in the cities of Cali, Manizales and Pasto, as well as assessing potential national policy frameworks to scale-up and replicate transit-oriented development (TOD) across Colombian cities.