Short-lived climate pollutants contribute to global warming

In March 2025, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2025 report noted that short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane are contributing up to 45% to recent global warming, accelerating glacier melting and threatening food security. Methane, which comes mainly from fossil fuels, agriculture and waste disposal, has a greenhouse effect 28 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, while black carbon is emitted through industrial combustion, agricultural burning and other pathways, exacerbating the melting of polar ice.