Overlooked Pollutants In Climate Policy

A Science analysis argues that current climate accounting misses a meaningful share of warming caused by pollutants that act indirectly through atmospheric chemistry.

It highlights carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and hydrogen leakage as important contributors, estimating they may account for about 15 percent of warming since the early 21st century. The central issue is a policy gap: many of these emissions are tracked in air-quality systems but are not consistently included in climate governance.