Why are short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) so dangerous?

When we think of climate and global warming, what comes to mind is carbon emissions, and how to decarbonise the economy.

Lately, another front in the fight against climate change getting more and more attention: the battle against Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs), also classified as non-carbon climate pollutants. These gases and chemicals — which include methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, hydrofluorocarbons -- have a much higher warming potential and shorter atmospheric lifetimes than CO2.

So, what makes SLCPs deadly? What activities produce them? What can be done to mitigate their impact? And what is the nature of the challenge India faces with regard to SLCPs?

Guest: Zerin Osho, Director of the India program at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development.

Host: G Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu.

Recorded by Jude Francis Weston and Tayyab Hussain

Produced and edited by Jude Francis Weston

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