London Climate Action Week: Day 3

Science, Policy, and Political Momentum Builds on Super Pollutants and Clean Air

As the London Climate Action Week draws to a close, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) brought together scientific evidence, public health expertise, and political leadership to highlight the urgent need for scaled-up action on super pollutants.

Building on Day 1’s focus on national planning and accountability and Day 2’s demonstration of global alignment and philanthropic support, the CCAC took part in two key events at the nexus of climate and health. At the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, leading researchers underscored the health and climate case for fast action. Meanwhile, ministers,  philanthropy, advocates and experts met at a CCAC-convened reception to reaffirm the political and financial commitment to address super pollutants as a key pillar of the COP30 agenda.

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High-Level Super Pollutant Reception  

Last night, the CCAC convened leaders from across government, philanthropy, and international organizations at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Locarno Suite for the High-Level Super Pollutant Reception. As London Climate Action Week continued to build momentum, the reception showcased growing global alignment on the urgent need to tackle super pollutants as a fast, cost-effective way to deliver climate, health, and development benefits.

Martina Otto, Head of the CCAC Secretariat, opened the evening with brief remarks highlighting the growing size and strength of the CCAC community, now involving over 200 government and institutional partners. She underscored the outsized role super pollutants play in near-term climate warming and health harms and framed the evening as a moment to both celebrate progress and accelerate ambition in the lead-up to COP30.

The Rt. Hon. Ed Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, emphasized that “cutting super pollutant emissions is the sprint” in the race to keep 1.5°C within reach, calling it one of the fastest ways to deliver climate action with tangible public benefits. He highlighted the UK’s leadership through its net zero commitment and its inclusion of super pollutants in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).  

European Commissioner for Climate Action, Net Zero, and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, echoed the urgency of action and reaffirmed the EU’s dedication to slashing industrial super pollutant emissions. He outlined forthcoming measures to phase down fluorinated gases, new regulation on methane emissions, and collaborative efforts to strengthen international action through multilateral institutions. He also emphasized the critical importance of collective action: “We have no solution unless we fix this together.”

Ambassador André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, COP30 President-Designate, welcomed the momentum and reaffirmed Brazil’s commitment to elevating super pollutant action in the lead-up to COP30. He expressed pride in Brazil’s co-chair role within the CCAC and recognized the leadership of both the UK and Brazil in keeping super pollutants on the global agenda.

The event then shifted to a series of announcements from philanthropic partners. Jane Burston, CEO and Founder of the Clean Air Fund, launched a new roadmap for global tropospheric ozone reduction, developed with the Clean Air Institute, Clean Air Task Force, and Hildegarde Foundation. She emphasized the threat ozone poses to both public health and crop yields, and the need for well-coordinated strategies to reduce it.

Jess Ayers, CEO of the Quadrature Climate Foundation, announced the formation of the Super Pollutant Action Alliance, a new philanthropic partnership among climate and health funders including Quadrature, Sequoia Climate Foundation, Pisces Foundation, High Tide Foundation, and Wellcome Trust. The Alliance is backing its ambition with over $30 million in new, pooled funding to accelerate action on super pollutants.

Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub, outlined major initiatives underway to cut methane and black carbon emissions across agriculture, oil and gas, and waste sectors. He noted that GMH has already deployed over $410 million in funding and helped mobilize $25 billion in public and private co-financing. Mena also announced a new Rice Methane Accelerator, with $100 million in total funding and aiming to cut emissions and water use while increasing farmer productivity.

Zulfiya Suleimenova, Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan and Special Representative for International Environmental Cooperation, spoke on Kazakhstan’s rapidly evolving methane strategy. She detailed recent progress in reducing gas flaring, joining the Global Methane Pledge in 2023, and working with CCAC and CATF to implement national legislation requiring baseline data, methane reporting, and action plans from operators. She also shared early findings from rice sector pilots in southern Kazakhstan showing methane reductions, increased yields, and improved water use efficiency, underscoring the multiple benefits of acting on super pollutants.

Adalberto Maluf, Brazil’s National Secretary for Urban Environment, Water Resources, and Environmental Quality, and CCAC Co-Chair, highlighted the CCAC’s growing impact in raising awareness and ambition on super pollutants. He called for COP30 to be a platform to fully integrate super pollutants into global climate discussions and reiterated Brazil’s commitment to collaboration across sectors and geographies.

UK Minister for Climate and CCAC Co-Chair, Kerry McCarthy, delivered closing remarks and made a key announcement: the United Kingdom will become a Global Methane Pledge Champion, joining a select group of countries committed to advancing methane mitigation through international collaboration and peer learning. She also noted the UK’s support for CCAC country-driven projects and the upcoming launch of the CCAC Challenge Programme. Reflecting on the week’s progress, McCarthy emphasized that “cutting super pollutants is one of the quickest and most effective ways to tackle climate change and keep 1.5°C alive.”

The evening reinforced the shared commitment to turn momentum into action. With national champions, philanthropic alliances, and multilateral partnerships all converging around a clear agenda, the reception made one message clear: tackling super pollutants is not only possible, it’s happening. 

Wellcome Trust Mission in Motion Event: Why Super Pollutants Matter for Our Health

As climate and health agendas increasingly converge, Wellcome Trust’s Mission in Motion session reinforced the powerful role of collaborative action on super pollutants in achieving Wellcome’s vision of a healthier future for everyone.

Rachel Huxley, Head of Mitigation at the Wellcome Trust, highlighted the impact that fast action on super pollutants would have for climate and health. While the climate crisis is a health crisis, climate solutions are also health solutions. By bringing together climate and health, Wellcome is supporting climate momentum with philanthropic investment, increasing health evidence, and leveraging public health standards.  

Drew Shindell, Chair of CCAC’s Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) and Professor at Duke University, outlined the urgency of action on super pollutants for health. With people already suffering from climate change, millions dying prematurely each year from air pollution, super pollutants are our strongest brake in the near term.

Shindell was joined on a panel by Gabrielle Dreyfus, CCAC SAP and Chief Scientist at IGSD, and Claire Henly, Executive Director at the Super Pollutant Action Alliance.

Dreyfus described why super pollutants are a lesser-known issue, despite being responsible for nearly half of global warming to date. Climate science is complicated historically focusing on carbon dioxide has been a way to keep the message simple. As the impacts of climate change become harder to ignore, with record breaking heatwaves and extremes happening outside our windows, we need to look at ways to slow warming this decade. This ‘sprint’ is essential while we run the multi-decade marathon of decarbonizing our industries, transport, and economies.

Henly described how climate change and the health impacts of super pollutants are reinforcing. For example, not only are higher temperatures associated with increased levels of air pollution, particularly the super pollutant tropospheric ozone - the physiological response to extreme heat increases respiration and therefore the amount of pollution inhaled.

Momentum has grown around super pollutants in climate spaces. Shindell explained the opportunity of bringing health more firmly into the conversation, and some of the risks of not considering health when acting on super pollutants, in particular an incomplete picture of benefits, as well as the potential for win-lose solutions. Strengthened health evidence, to increase understanding of health benefits, will also strengthen the case for action.

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Super Pollutant Seminar - The Imperative for Action  

Led by scientists working at the nexus of climate and health, this event convened leading researchers to make the case for urgent action on super pollutants. Hosted by the CCAC and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the session highlighted how tackling these pollutants offers one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to slow warming and save lives.

The session began with Professor Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna of the Stockholm Environment Institute and member of the CCAC SAP, who highlighted the critical opportunity in 2025 to embed super pollutant action into national and global agendas ahead of COP30. He emphasized the potential for rapid, near-term gains for both the climate and human health, especially with tools and knowledge already available.

Gabrielle Dreyfus of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and member of the CCAC SAP, delivered a keynote noting that super pollutants contribute roughly half of today’s global warming but remain vastly underrepresented in countries’ climate commitments. She called for governments to update their national climate plans to seize this opportunity, integrating super pollutant measures to drive mitigation, strengthen food security, and improve air quality.

Sir Andy Haines, Professor at the LSHTM and emeritus member of the CCAC SAP, presented the public health case, outlining how air pollution, driven in part by super pollutants, now contributes to over 8 million premature deaths annually. He emphasized that methane and black carbon reduction strategies not only reduce warming but also save lives, particularly in the world’s most vulnerable communities.

A moderated panel discussion followed, featuring Yulia Yamineva of the University of Eastern Finland and Kenza Khomsi of UNIDO Morocco, both members of the CCAC SAP. Panelists discussed the legal and policy architecture needed to scale action, including regulatory innovations, improved emissions inventories, and stronger science-policy links. Khomsi stressed the importance of tailoring solutions to regional contexts, particularly in data-constrained settings across Africa and the MENA region.

The audience discussion raised critical implementation questions. Participants asked why methane flaring continues at scale despite well-documented cost-effective solutions, and how multilateral development banks could be more closely aligned with the super pollutant agenda. The conversation highlighted the need for targeted financing mechanisms, better enforcement, and the political will to turn cost-saving opportunities into climate results.

Kuylenstierna closed the session with a call to move beyond pilot projects and position super pollutant mitigation as a central pillar of climate, development, and health policy. He noted the upcoming COP30 as a key moment to raise ambition and implementation. The discussion continued informally over a networking lunch, as scientists, policy advocates, and technical experts connected on how to accelerate this agenda in the months ahead. 

See photos from London Climate Action Week here.

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