What Is Black Carbon?
The EPA describes black carbon as the sooty black material emitted from gas and diesel engines, coal-fired power plants and other sources that burn fossil fuel, and says it makes up a significant portion of particulate matter, an air pollutant. It says burning wood, dung or coal in cook stoves also emits substantial amounts of black carbon.
The EPA says inhaling black carbon is associated with health problems including respiratory and cardiovascular disease and cancer.
It also warms the planet. The EPA says aerosols that absorb sunlight, such as black carbon, have a warming effect, that black carbon has a per-unit climate warming capacity hundreds to thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide, and that household energy emissions are the largest controllable source. It says reducing emissions in mountain regions such as the Andes and Himalayas is especially important because dark deposits on snow absorb sunlight and accelerate glacial melting.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Government sourceThe EPA describes black carbon as the sooty black material from gas and diesel engines, coal-fired power plants and other fossil fuel sources, making up a significant portion of particulate matter. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says inhalation of black carbon is associated with health problems including respiratory and cardiovascular disease and cancer. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says burning wood, dung or coal in cook stoves emits substantial amounts of black carbon. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says aerosols that absorb sunlight, such as black carbon, have a warming effect, while those that reflect sunlight have a cooling effect. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says household energy emissions are the largest controllable source of black carbon, which has a per-unit warming capacity hundreds to thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says black carbon deposits on snow absorb sunlight and accelerate glacial melting, making emission cuts in mountain regions like the Andes and Himalayas especially important. US EPA ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.