Yes, En-ROADS includes the overall climate impacts of short-lived air pollutants like sulfate aerosols and black carbon (soot). However, these effects are currently modeled simplistically and can’t be adjusted by users or influenced by En-ROADS slider movements.

Sulfate aerosols are tiny particles made up of sulfur compounds, primarily formed when sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—released from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil—reacts with water vapor in the atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols reflect sunlight back into space, helping cool the planet slightly. In contrast, black carbon absorbs sunlight and contributes to warming. Both pollutants worsen air quality and harm human health. Unlike carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere for centuries, these particles are short-lived, lasting only days or weeks—so their climate effects are temporary and unevenly distributed.

SO₂ released from burning fossil fuels is currently cooling the planet slightly, counteracting some of the warming caused by greenhouse gases. However, the net effect of burning fossil fuels is warming the planet, since CO₂ remains in the atmosphere much longer than SO₂ and continues to drive long-term climate change.

In En-ROADS, the effect of aerosols on radiative forcing is represented using a fixed trajectory based on external scientific projections (e.g., Meinshausen et al., 2011). This means that while aerosol impacts change over time in the model, they follow the same path in every scenario and are not influenced by En-ROADS sliders.

As science progresses, future versions of En-ROADS may represent these effects in more detail. But for now, the uncertainty around aerosols is one more reason to act quickly and boldly on climate—waiting could lead to outcomes that are both worse and harder to predict.