Meet Super Swift. Her mission? She’s here to help us fight against the super pollutants harming our climate and our health. She moves quickly to deploy solutions to reduce super pollutants like HFCs from air conditioners and refrigerators, methane from oil and gas production, and black carbon spewed from diesel trucks, buses, and ships. She inspires us all to take fast action against these pollutants. Want to see Super Swift and meet some of the other fast-action heroes committed to super pollutant mitigation? Interested in learning what you can do to help keep global temperature rise well under 2°C by reducing super pollutants?
Join the Pisces Foundation, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the ClimateWorks Foundation at Super Pollutant Day at SFMOMA on September 11, 2018, starting at 1:00 pm in advance of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco!
A scan of recent headlines on the state of our climate are sobering: heatwaves, floods, droughts, and wildfires have reached epic proportions. Now, more than ever, with millions around the world feeling the impacts of a changing climate, we see and feel the urgency in delivering on the promise of the Paris Agreement. To achieve this, we must control all the pollutants contributing to climate change, reducing super pollutants along with carbon dioxide.
Super pollutants, pound for pound, are much more potent than CO2 at warming our planet and are increasing the rate at which our climate changes. They are also responsible for the rise in deadly air pollution and crop destruction around the world. According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), quickly implemented measures to reduce short-lived climate pollutants could prevent an estimated 2.4 million premature deaths from outdoor air pollution annually by 2030, and as much as 52 million tons of crop loss per year.
And who could defeat such a formidable set of foes? Enter our cast of fast-action heroes! During Super Pollutant Day you will meet scientists, policymakers, activists, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists who have made it their mission to slash emissions of super pollutants. They hail from all corners of the world but share a common sense of urgency and possibility. And they have delivered. Tremendous progress has been made in reducing super pollutants. A global agreement in Kigali to phase down HFCs will avoid as much as 0.5°C of warming by 2100. Rules in China and India will require black carbon filters on every new diesel trucks and bus by 2020. This year, Canada has adopted and Mexico has proposed requirements to fix leaks from oil and gas production and other measures that will reduce methane emissions from that sector by 40–45% in 2025.
At Super Pollutant Day, our fast-action heroes will share their knowledge on viable, cost-effective solutions that protect our climate and health. They will provide their insight on next steps—where are the greatest opportunities for fast action? Panel discussions covering these topics will be followed by the annual CCAC Awards ceremony celebrating some of these heroes. A list of confirmed speakers can be found here. A short list of nominated awardees is available here; be sure to vote for your favorite to receive the People’s Choice Award. The day will end with a lively cocktail reception, the opportunity to view some of SFMOMA’s art collection, and ample time to have your picture taken with Super Swift. We hope you’ll join the ranks of our fast-action heroes!
