Development of City Action Plans to Reduce GHGs and SLCPs from Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) in Southeast Asia

Asia’s rapid urbanization and economic growth over the past few decades have resulted in an increasing number of social and environmental challenges. Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) stands out amongst these issues, as the waste itself is highly visible and prevalent, increasing environmental pollutions (land, air and water), climate change impacts and associated public health issues. Because of its cross-cutting nature, MSWM has an important and direct bearing on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local and national levels, including but not limited to SDG 6 (Water and Sanitation), SDG 11 (Cities), SDG 12 (Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate) SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)1 .
Asian cities also represent the front line in addressing climate change by mitigating emissions from MSWM systems. Municipal landfills comprise the third largest source of global anthropogenic methane emissions2. The open burning of municipal waste, incomplete combustion of fossil fuels from waste collection and transportation vehicles as well as waste recycling and treatment equipment and facilities emit black carbon and other air toxins as well as greenhouse gases (GHGs).
The scientific data shows that methane (CH4) and black carbon (BC) in particular are powerful short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) - substances with a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere that carry a significant warming influence on near-term climate3. Thus, international initiatives such as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) are increasingly emphasizing the importance of mitigating GHGs together with near-term measures targeting SLCPs to ensure average global temperatures remain below 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius (°C)4. In this context, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) provides research and technical supports to cities in developing countries in Asia to reduce SLCP emissions from MSWM systems, on behalf of the Municipal Solid Waste Initiative (MSWI) of CCAC and its partners. These supports included the development of action plans or work plans to improve MSWM and reduce SLCPs, capacity building on applying the basic tools, such as the Emission Quantification Tool (EQT) developed by MSWI and IGES to measure SLCPs produced from MSWM, and facilitating city-to-city cooperation and peer learning.