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New clean air treaty goes into effect across Europe and North America

The agreement aims to limit heat-trapping black carbon emissions that accelerate melting of glaciers and sea ice.

A smoke plume from a factory in Denmark bends in a temperature inversion
A smoke plume from a factory in Denmark bends in a temperature inversion (AN/Sigfrid Lundberg)

WASHINGTON (AN) — An obscure but important agreement to limit black carbon emissions, a particularly strong climate pollutant that accelerates melting of glaciers and sea ice, entered into force across two continents.

The agreement, an amended version of the Gothenburg Protocol, regulates black carbon, or soot, which has a far higher global warming potential — a measure of the amount of heat that greenhouse gases trap in the atmosphere — than carbon dioxide.

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