Announcing the initiative, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged the plan does not address carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of global warming that many governments are reluctant to cap.

The six-country coalition, which also includes Bangladesh, Canada, Mexico, Sweden and Ghana, will tackle "short-lived" climate pollutants, highly potent greenhouse gases that contribute to one-third of global warming, according to the State Department.

Unlike carbon dioxide emissions, which remain in the atmosphere for a century, "short-lived" pollutants stay in the atmosphere for a few days to years.

Curbing black carbon, methane and HFCs, gases used in refrigerants and aerosols, can help the world achieve the U.N. goal pledged by nearly 200 countries of limiting the rise in global temperatures to 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) by 2050, Clinton said.