Climate Visuals launches new black carbon images

In Nigeria, Taiwo Aina photographed black carbon emissions from fish smoking and domestic cooking, burning at abattoirs, palm oil production and gas flaring, highlighting the impacts all of these have on the local communities and environment. 

Taiwo recently spoke to Mongabay about her work on this project.

In Nepal, Nabin Baral photographed a range of causes of black carbon emissions from agricultural burning, industries including brick kilns, and heavy vehicles, as well as the winter fog affecting communities in the Terai region. He also documented potential solutions such as solar irrigation, innovative domestic heating systems, and electric vehicle charging. 

And in Kenya, Esther Sweeney photographed waste burning at Kenya’s largest dump site, the use of charcoal for domestic cooking as well as cleaner cooking technologies and education around the impacts of black carbon.

Action on black carbon and other super pollutants can be an ‘emergency brake’ to the climate emergency, with the potential to cut near-term temperatures four times faster than action on carbon dioxide alone. Reducing these dangerous and damaging emissions also delivers a unique triple win: tackling climate change, radically improving health globally and adding trillions to the economy.

These new images join Victor Moriyama’s work from Brazil in our black carbon collection. The photographs are available free for non-profit, educational and editorial use, forming a distinct communication resource, helping to tell the story of black carbon, and link its effects on a global climate scale with the impact it has on local communities.