Published by
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Year
2015

Good Practice Study on GHG-Inventories for the Waste Sector in Non-Annex I Countries

This study on GHG-Inventories for the Waste Sector has been updated in 2022.

CLICK HERE to find the updated version.

 

The study aims to provide comprehensive guidance to policy makers and practitioners in developing countries [Non-Annex I countries to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)] for the preparation of national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for the waste sector.

Though GHG emissions from the waste sector are still comparatively low compared to other sectors, they are continuously rising in developing countries due to changing production and consumption patterns. Experience shows that emissions from this sector can be reduced significantly at relatively low costs. As a first step towards implementing policies and measures to reduce emissions from the waste sector, it is necessary to adequately quantify and understand the main reasons and sources of such emissions. A high-quality GHG inventory provides a solid base to answer these questions.

Since 2014, developing countries are asked to submit GHG inventories every two years as part of their Biennial Update Reports to the UNFCCC, using the methodology provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thus, all countries are applying those guidelines and need to collect and determine the same data and parameters in order to report on the required source categories in the waste sector. While national circumstances differ among developing countries, they often face similar problems, with lack of national data and technical capacities being the most common obstacles.

The purpose of the study is to support the estimation of GHG emissions in the waste sector by enhancing the understanding and demonstrating the application of the IPCC Guidelines.  In addition, it analyses examples of good practices identified in several Non-Annex I countries. It is expected that these would assist developing countries to overcome barriers in the understanding of IPCC methodologies and to learn from solutions taken by those countries presented in the study.

The study has been prepared by the Öko-Institut e.V. (Institute of Applied Ecology) and coordinated by the GIZ Information Matters project, which is carried out on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

The study is complemented by short factsheets in English, Spanish and French.