CCET organized the thematic session tilted "Cutting Methane Gas from the Waste Sector, Crucial for Zero Carbon Societies in Asia and the Pacific" during the ISAP 2021. 

Many governments have been declaring commitment and setting goals to achieve zero emissions by 2050. However, addressing carbon dioxide (CO2) alone is not enough. CO2 accounts for only half of global emissions and there needs to be a “two-basket approach”: zero emissions for long-lived gases (mainly CO2 and nitrous oxide) and stabilisation for short-lived gases (e.g. methane and black carbon). According to the recent Global Methane Assessment (2021), reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute significantly to global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5° C.

This session aims to discuss how countries can take actions in the waste sector to reduce methane to a level that is consistent with a 1.5°C pathway. In doing so it will also review how they have reflected this goal in a nationally appropriate way in their NDCs and other planning and strategy documents. In addition, the discussions will 1) analyse gaps and challenges (including trade-offs), and 2) provide a set of concrete recommendations for strengthening synergies, increasing ambition, advancing implementation action, maximising co-benefits and stimulating multi-stakeholder partnerships based on the experience of CCET and the CCAC in partnership with the government of Japan.

ISAP Homepage:

https://isap.iges.or.jp/2021/en/t12.html