Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

The Global Heat Reduction Initiative (GHR) was launched in the fall of 2024 to bring critical new tools to bear in the battle to slow global warming in order to hold global temperatures below internationally agreed-upon thresholds beyond which climate tipping points could be triggered. 

The Initiative centers around the time-tested idea that we can’t manage what we don’t measure. In this case, what is not being routinely measured is the full suite of pollutants and other factors causing climate change. Nor is there a clear accounting of the near-term impacts of these climate drivers, such as between now and 2030 or 2040.  

 Most climate accounting relies on metrics that only provide a partial accounting of the core drivers of global warming. This is like playing darts blindfolded. GHR removes the blindfold, revealing all contributors to excess trapped heat. We are directly aligned with and apply the consensus science summarized in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports of the past decade. 

Conventional climate accounting protocols currently used to establish carbon footprints, climate policy, and Nationally Determined Contribution levels do not cover all climate drivers, and do not provide the level of information needed to determine which actions can effectively reduce excess trapped heat in the atmosphere in the near term.

GHR’s “Total Climate Accounting” protocol tracks the relative contribution of each factor contributing to the warming or cooling of the planet. This comprehensive protocol accounts for: 1) all greenhouse gases; 2) all short-lived climate pollutants; 3) all air pollutants that cool the planet; 4) non-emission climate drivers, like changes in reflectivity.  
And uniquely, it does so over any time horizon (e.g., between now and 2030, 2040, 2050, or 2100), making it possible to pinpoint the benefit of any action in the next few crucial decades.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)', 'Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

There are gender differences in how emissions from super pollutants impact communities. For instance, in the global south, women are often responsible for household energy usage, and therefore are key for decisions about cooking fuels. Black carbon emitted from certain cooking fuels, agricultural or waste burning is particularly harmful to pregnant women and children.  Similarly, in the major methane-emitting waste sector, many female waste pickers often do the most unsafe jobs. 

Children are also particularly vulnerable to poor air quality associated with ground level ozone (smog) and black carbon particulates, which also act as climate super pollutants.  Asthma and respiratory illness are leading diseases and causes of death in heavily polluted regions around the world. Super pollutant mitigation projects can improve air quality, while simultaneously generating new income streams for local communities. This creates opportunities to improve the lives of women and children through better education, improved healthcare and increased available capital. GHR recognizes the importance of the gender impacts of our work and will include SDG 5 in the co-benefits reported from Registry projects.  

SCS is a global company with staff around the world, reflecting the range of geographies, industries and people contributing to and impacted by climate change.

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