UN: Did we say carbon dioxide? We meant other pollutants

Controlling "climate forcers" can save millions of lives: UN report

LONDON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Controlling certain pollutants can save millions of lives and help fight climate change, a UN report released on Friday has found.

The so-called "short-lived climate forcers" are a group of substances such as methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone and hydrofluorocarbons which have a significant impact on near-term climate change. They can pollute the air and have negative impacts on human health and agricultural crops.

The report says if recommended measures are fully implemented, some 2.5 million lives can be saved and crop losses of 32 million tonnes can be avoided annually.

Compiled by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and funded by the Government of Sweden, the report further adds global temperatures can be controlled by half a degree Celcius by 2040.