Municipal Solid Waste Knowledge Platform

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC) is catalyzing rapid reductions in these harmful pollutants to protect human health and the environment now and slow the rate of climate change within the first half of this century. One of the CCAC's focal areas or initiatives is the Mitigating SLCPs from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Initiative, where the CCAC is working to address methane, black carbon, and other air pollutants emissions across the municipal solid waste sector by working with cities and national governments. This Knowledge Portal has been developed to offer a suite of tools and resources to support the cities and national governments participating in the MSW Initiative.

To find out more about the MSW Knowledge Portal, the MSW Initiative, and the overarching CCAC Coalition by scrolling to the relevant heading below. You are also invited to watch a webinar with this information. 

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About the MSW Knowledge Platform

The CCAC MSW Knowledge Platform is a tool that has been established to promote, share and exchange information and provide outreach resources to support cities and governments to reduce short-lived climate pollutants through improving Municipal Solid Waste Management practices. The MSW Knowledge Platform allows open access to an extensive array of material and resources disseminating existing and new best practice strategies for reducing methane and black carbon emissions across the waste sector. The platform consists of:

• Resources – including an online library covering key documents pertaining to all aspects of MSW management; and a directory of databases connecting the user to complimentary external resources
• an Exchange Platform facilitating peer-to-peer exchange, discussion, outreach and capacity building such as access to specialized experts who are available to answer inquiries on MSW management
• An opportunity to learn from cities involved in the CCAC MSW Initiative and for new cities to become engaged with the initiative
• The main or target audience is municipality & governmental representatives responsible for waste management, national governments, and participants involved in the MSW initiative.

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About the Mitigating SLCPs from the Municipal Solid Waste Sector Initiative (Waste Initiative)

The Coalition is working to address methane, black carbon, and other air pollutants emissions across the municipal solid waste sector by working with cities and national governments. This initiative is a catalyzing force to reduce methane and air pollution across the municipal solid waste sector by securing city and country commitments to undertake a variety of best practice policies and strategies for waste management.

Through technical assistance, training, capacity building, and awareness-raising, cities are able to mitigate emissions of methane, black carbon, and other pollutants as they transition to more sustainable waste management options. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of global methane emissions, while the practice of open garbage burning emits black carbon and other toxic compounds as well as greenhouse gasses.

Why act now on Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs)?  Key short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, and many hydrofluorocarbons, are responsible for a substantial fraction of near-term climate change, with a particularly large impact in sensitive regions of the world. Fast action to reduce these pollutants has the potential to slow down the warming expected by 2050 by as much as 0.5°C, as well as prevent over two million premature deaths each year and avoid annual crop losses of over 30 million tons. These actions need to be complemented by deep and rapid cuts in carbon dioxide emissions if the global mean temperature increases over the 21st century are to be held below 2°C.

What is the importance of the solid waste sector in improving air quality and climate change mitigation? Well, globally, landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions, accounting for approximately 11% of estimated global methane emissions. The municipal solid waste sector is also a significant source of black carbon through the open burning of uncollected or unsoundly disposed waste, and the transportation of waste with outdated and polluting vehicles. Waste is not only an important climate and air quality challenge but one that affects every aspect of life for millions of people around the world. Today, more than half the global population lives in cities. Recognizing that urbanization is growing, especially in the developing world, and that rising incomes also increase waste generation, addressing the downstream consequences of municipal solid waste is clearly a priority.  See also the MSW Initiative Fact Sheet 

How does the Waste Initiative provide assistance to improve air quality and climate change mitigation from the waste sector? The Initiative brings together technical experts and policymakers from all levels of government to offer the following types of assistance:

• Direct technical assistance for developing waste management master plans, waste assessments, and feasibility studies, and for identifying and promoting appropriate financing for waste projects
• Indirect technical assistance through the creation of tools and resources that help cities and national governments track their emissions reductions, determine appropriate waste management solutions, and identify best practices
• Information exchange and networking opportunities bring cities together to share best practices, highlight success stories, and encourage peer-to-peer learning and city mentoring
• Training and capacity building sessions for city officials, waste management staff, and other stakeholders
• A publicly available Knowledge Platform that compiles and organizes helpful resources such as case studies, guidance documents, and databases from partners and other organizations

Since the circumstances in each city are different, these activities are determined based on individual needs. These activities may cover:

• Preventing and/or reducing waste generation
• Strengthening policy planning
• Scaling up individual city action to the national level
• Banning open burning and open dumping
• Diverting organic waste from landfills
• Optimising waste collection routes
• Reducing emissions from waste collection vehicles, and recovering methane from landfills for energy production

Who is involved in the Waste Initiative?

• CCAC State Partners: Canada*, Japan*, Mexico*, United States of America*, Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Jordan, Korea, Liberia, Maldives, Netherlands, Nigeria, Sweden
• CCAC Non-State Partners: C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40)*, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)*, UN Environment Programme (UN Environment)*, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Brazilian Association of Public Cleansing and Waste Management Companies (ABRELPE), Centre for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), European Investment Bank (EIB), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), TERRE Policy Centre,  The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI),  UN-Habitat, and World Bank
• Cities: Cities around the world are part of the Waste Initiative City Network. Find the list of participating cities here. 
• Actors: A2A Group S.p.A, Abt Associates, Bluefield, Centro de Gestion Tecnologica e Informatica Industrial (CEGESTI), Eastern Research Group (ERG), Gevalor - Association pour la Gestion et la Valorisation des Déchets et des Matières Premières Minerales, Global Environment Center (GEC), Indonesia (Directorate General of Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste And Hazardous Substance Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry), Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), Serbian Solid Waste Association (SeSWA), Waste advisers on urban environment and development and the World Biogas Association

* Lead Partners of the Initiative

How can cities join the Waste Initiative Network? Cities interested in joining the Waste Initiative should reach out to a member of the Waste Initiative Network or directly to the Waste Initiative Coordinator to express their interest in joining the Initiative. The City will then be invited to a brief meeting to receive more information about the Coalition and the Waste Initiative, including what is expected from the participating cities. During this meeting, the city will also present the goals and desired outcomes obtained through the participation in the initiative. Based on the outcomes of the meeting, the Lead Partners of the Initiative will make the decision to invite the city to join the Initiative. If the city is chosen to join the network then the city will receive an Expression of Interest letter.

There are two types of expression of interest letters, one general city letter, and one for cities that would like to be mentor cities. Both letters must be signed by a high ranking city officials. The letters ask the city to:

• Identify a point of contact with whom the coordinator and partners of the initiative will communicate directly
• Other points of contacts of the municipality include those that might have to be contacted to obtain approvals for participation on workshops, city exchanges, etc. These might include representatives of the departments of climate change, international relations, etc. or even from the Mayor’s office.
• Identify their goals/desired outcomes through cooperation
• What they can contribute,
• A commitment to support other cities by sharing their experiences (webinars, workshop presentation, case study) or mentoring other cities (city-to-city partnership)
• If applicable, the city will need to identify other networks that the city participates in and the points of contact of those networks and/or identify a point of contact with the national government

After receipt of the letter, the city will receive a welcome letter to the Waste Initiative Network. Information of the city will be included in the Knowledge Platform.

Achievements - Please watch this video to see examples of the work of the Initiative. 

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More information on CCAC

The Climate & Clean Air Coalition is the first global effort to treat short-lived climate pollutants – such as black carbon (or soot), methane and many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – as an urgent and collective challenge.

The Story: Pollutants that are short-lived in the atmosphere such as black carbon, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are responsible for a substantial fraction of current global warming with particularly large impacts in urban areas and sensitive regions of the world like the Arctic and have harmful health and environmental impacts. Addressing these short-lived climate pollutants can have immediate, multiple benefits. Reducing them will protect human health and the environment now and slow the rate of climate change within the first half of this century.

Recognizing that mitigation of the impacts of short-lived climate pollutants is critical in the near term for addressing climate change and that there are many cost-effective options available, the governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) have come together to initiate the first effort to treat these pollutants as a collective challenge. Together, they have formed the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), a unique initiative to support fast action and make a difference on several fronts at once: public health, food and energy security and climate. The Coalition is open to countries and non-state actors that are committed to taking action on short-lived climate pollutants, and wish to join in this global effort.

Objectives:  The Coalition's initial focus is on methane, black carbon, and HFCs. At the same time, Partners recognize that action on Short-lived climate pollutants must complement and supplement, not replace, global action to reduce carbon dioxide, in particular efforts under the UNFCCC. The Coalition's objectives are to address short-lived climate pollutants by:

• Raising awareness of short-lived climate pollutant impacts and mitigation strategies;
• Enhancing and developing new national and regional actions, including by identifying and overcoming barriers, enhancing capacity, and mobilizing support;
• Promoting best practices and showcasing successful efforts; and
• Improving scientific understanding of short-lived climate pollutant impacts and mitigation strategies.

The Coalition intends to serve as a forum for assessing progress in addressing the challenge of short-lived climate pollutants and for mobilizing resources to accelerate action. It works to catalyze new actions as well as to highlight and bolster existing efforts on near-term climate change and related public health, food and energy security, and environmental issues.

Structure: The Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants is a partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, representatives of the private sector, the environmental community, and other members of civil society. The Coalition is government-led but is highly cooperative and voluntary. Its governance structure includes the following:

• A Working Group with representatives from the Partners oversees the cooperative actions of the Coalition. 
• A High-Level Assembly of the Coalition Partners convenes to set policy, take stock of progress and initiate future efforts.
• A Scientific Advisory Panel is responsible for keeping the Coalition abreast of new science development on short-lived climate pollutants, answer specific questions of the Coalition and inform policy discussions.
• A Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) in Paris.

More information on the Climate and Clean Coalition can be found on the Coalition website and on this webinar.