Headline: UNEA-2 Green Room Event: Mitigating Black Carbon and other Pollutants from Brick Production

The IASS in partnership with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and Lead Partners of the CCAC Bricks Initiative cordially invites you to attend our official United Nations Environment Assembly Green Room Event.

When?
Thursday, May 26, 2016, 16:00 – 17:00

Where?
United Nations Environment Assembly, Gigiri compound, Conference Room 14, Nairobi, Kenya

Why?
The reduction of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) – black carbon, methane, HFCs and ground-level ozone – offers a crucial opportunity to combat near-term climate change while at the same time contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, i.e. a cleaner environment, which is essential for human health and well-being. The brick production sector is an important area where significant emission reductions can be achieved by reducing the emissions from black carbon and other SLCPs from brick kilns, which are responsible for severe air pollution in many cities around the world. Recent studies estimate that implementing more efficient brick production technologies can result in emissions reductions from 10 to 50%.

The IASS is a Lead Partner in the “Mitigating Black Carbon and other Pollutants from Brick Production” Initiative of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), a global partnership of over 100 state and non-state partners, taking voluntary action to reduce SLCPs globally and across multiple sectors. The 16 key measures the CCAC supports can reduce global warming by 0.6°C by 2050 if they are implemented by 2030.

By working to reduce black carbon and other pollutant emissions from brick kilns, the Initiative makes an important contribution to the achievement of the environmental dimension of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, such reductions contribute to Goal 2 by improving ecosystem health and agricultural yields; Goals 3 and 11 by reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution – the leading cause of premature deaths worldwide; Goal 13 by reducing near-term climate warming; and Goals 9 and 12 by promoting greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies in production processes (e.g. brick kilns).

The Green Room event will showcase the work of the CCAC Brick Production Initiative, highlighting how multiple SDGs and targets can be achieved simultaneously through targeted SLCP reduction measures whose benefits can be realized within the timeframe of the SDGs, i.e. by 2030. Representatives from the CCAC Secretariat, state and non-state Lead Partners of the Initiative as well as private sector Implementers will share their insights, lessons learned, and thoughts on the way forward to a detoxified brick sector by 2030.

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Helena Molin Valdés, Head of the Secretariat, Climate and Clean Air Coalition
  • Immaculate Simiyu, National Environment Management Authority, Kenya
  • N.N., Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Switzerland
  • Luca De Giovanetti, Advisor Environment and Climate Change, Swisscontact
  • Prof. Dr. Mark Lawrence, Managing Scientific Director, IASS

Moderated by Dr. Birgit Lode, IASS and Steering Committee CCAC

For further information on our Green Room event please visit this site.

Our colleagues have recently published an analysis on air quality in the 2030 Agenda and international law in a special issue of the legal journal RECIEL, which can be accessed here.

*ATTENDEES MUST BE REGISTERED WITH UNEA TO ATTEND OFFICIAL SIDE EVENTS. WE REGRET THAT ARE UNABLE TO ARRANGE REGISTRATION FOR PARTICIPANTS.