"Cutting soot and other air pollutants could help 'buy time' in the fight against climate change, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday as seven nations joined a Washington-led plan."

"Air pollution, from sources ranging from wood-fired cooking stoves in Africa to cars in Europe, may be responsible for up to six million deaths a year worldwide and is also contributing to global warming, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) said.

Seven countries -- Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Jordan -- formally joined the U.S.-led Climate and Clean Air Initiative, bringing the total of members to about 20 since the plan was launched in February.

'If we are able to do this we could really buy time in the context of the global problem to combat climate change,' Jonathan Pershing, U.S. deputy special envoy for climate change, told a telephone news briefing from Paris."

Alister Doyle reports for Reuters July 25, 2012. [2]