About

Emissions of short-lived climate pollutants - such as black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - and associated emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants are harming millions of people around the world through their direct and indirect impacts on human health, agriculture, ecosystems, and the climate.

Compelling scientific evidence indicates that fast action to control these pollutants can deliver substantial climate and air quality benefits. Achieving these would require action at the national scale, where decisions are often made.

The Coalition’s SNAP (Supporting National Action and Planning) Initiative is a collaborative programme aimed at supporting the efforts of the Coalition's state partners to scale up action in a coordinated and prioritized way. This includes helping countries assess their mitigation options to respond in a more prioritised, targeted and cost-effective manner and address the challenges to implementation.

Top facts

Total deaths caused by air pollution in the 14 SNAP countries = 426,976 premature deaths
Total crop yield loss 2,110,000 tonnes (or 2.1 million tonnes) from 14 countries caused by ozone pollution
16 measures targeting Black Carbon and Methane implemented fully in all countries of the globe can avoid 0.5 degrees warming by 2050

Factsheets

How we work

Our work is a mix of technical assistance and financial support that strengthens countries’ capacity to undertake an integrated analysis of greenhouse gases alongside all aerosols and short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). Through this integrated analysis, countries identify national opportunities for action for both climate and development that can inform other planning processes, such as NDCs and national development plans.

Guidance materials we have developed are used alongside the “LEAP-IBC” tool to assess the impact of mitigation scenarios on climate, air pollution and crop yields. To inspire others and share good practices, we showcase countries’ efforts and actively promote regional cooperation with other global initiatives.

Objectives

The goal of the SNAP Initiative is to develop capacity within partner countries for effective national planning as a foundation for rapid and large-scale implementation of short-lived climate pollutant mitigation. The initiative has three key objectives:
  

  • Supporting the development of national short-lived climate pollutant planning processes, by embedding short-lived climate pollutants into ongoing activities and policies, building capacity to identify priorities in the country, and providing regionally-coordinated support in participating countries.
  • Enhancing tools and approaches to support key steps of the national planning process, by supporting partner countries to develop emission scenarios and estimate the benefits of emission reductions to help in prioritise mitigation measures.
  • Fostering linkages and collaboration between national SLCP planning with global and regional processes, initiatives and approaches.

Activities

Location of activities

  • Africa
    • Benin
    • Central African Republic
    • Chad
    • Congo (Kinshasa)
    • Ethiopia
    • Ghana
    • Ivory Coast
    • Kenya
    • Liberia
    • Mali
    • Morocco
    • Nigeria
    • Togo
    • Zimbabwe
  • Asia and the Pacific
    • Bangladesh
    • Cambodia
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Mongolia
    • Philippines
  • Europe
    • Moldova
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • Argentina
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Costa Rica
    • Dominican Republic
    • Mexico
    • Paraguay
    • Peru
    • Uruguay
  • West Asia
    • Jordan

Description of activities

Workstream | SNAP
Ongoing
SNAP regional workshops
Regional cooperation is essential to raise ambition and scale up short-lived climate pollutant mitigation actions. Since 2012, the Coalition’s SNAP initiative has supported regional workshops that...
Workstream | SNAP
Ongoing
Guidelines and tools (LEAP-IBC) for national planning
The lack of quantitative data can impede efforts to make the case for action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. The Coalition’s SNAP Initiative has developed a suite of tools to help countries...
Workstream | SNAP
Ongoing
Institutional strengthening support and training
While many countries recognize the value of addressing short-lived climate pollutants and taking an integrated approach to climate and air quality planning, they often lack capacity within the...
Workstream | SNAP
Ongoing
National planning support
The major health, climate, crop yield and ecosystem benefits of short-lived climate pollutant mitigation that have been identified in global assessments will only be achieved through widespread and...
Activity | SNAP
Zimbabwe | Ongoing
Zimbabwe – Black carbon inventory development
Despite its small contribution to global emissions, Zimbabwe is taking ambitious action to tackle the challenges of climate change and air pollution simultaneously in view of its development...
Harare, Zimbabwe

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Achievements to date

Since its launch in 2013, the SNAP Initiative has developed a methodology and set of tools to support countries in short-lived climate pollutant planning efforts. Key achievements include:
  

  • Activities and progress in 27 countries
  • 16 countries developing national plans on short-lived climate pollutants, including endorsement of those plans in 8 countries who are now moving towards implementation
  • 18 countries participated in training to develop integrated inventories of greenhouse gases, short-lived climate pollutants and air pollutants. Inventory reports for 10 countries were finalized.
  • Environment ministries in 22 countries have received or are receiving institutional strengthening support to enhance SLCP action
  • 7 major regional meetings on SLCP mitigation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East and North Africa regions
  • 15 knowledge resources developed, including the internationally recognised tool, LEAP-IBC, used in 15 countries to estimate the air pollution and climate impact benefits of mitigation strategies
  • 2 guidelines for developing countries interested in carrying out national SLCP planning process and including SLCPs and air pollution benefits in their Nationally Determined Contribution
  • 3,208 person-days of training delivered through 42 training events such as national LEAP-IBC trainings and consultations, regional and global peer exchange workshops

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Initiative contacts

Seraphine Haeussling,
Programme Management Officer
Seraphine.Haeussling [at] un.org

Meet our experts

SLCP

Black carbon
Methane
Tropospheric ozone
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Partners & Actors

Lead Partner: A Coalition partner with an active role in coordinating, monitoring and guiding the work of an initiative.

Implementer: A Coalition partner or actor receiving Coalition funds to implement an activity or initiative.

Resources

Featured
Featured
2016 | Guidelines & Tools
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) , Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) , Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD) , Molina Center for Energy and the Environment (MCE2) , United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Guidance Document: National Planning for reducing short-lived climate pollutants (SNAP)

This document sets out to guide countries wishing to develop national plans to implement Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) strategies.

This SNAP guidance document outlines a tried and...

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