IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET) has developed version III of the IGES-GHG calculator entitled "Estimation Tool for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management in a Life Cycle Perspective", a tool that enables to estimate GHG emissions from the waste sector in China in the Life Cycle Perspective, in response to a strong request from the Rock Environment and Energy Institute (REEI).  

In 2011, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) developed a prototype to facilitate local governments’ science-based decision-making for climate mitigation as well as quantitative evaluation of their progress. After several modifications, the latest calculator has been designed for the Chinese context and also translated into the Chinese language. This version incorporates all existing waste management options in China. The recycling sheet has been modified significantly to estimate the GHG mitigation potential from material recovery and circularity, and the waste incineration sheet has been improved to calculate the potential GHG avoidance through energy recovery options in China. The tool is expected to be used by NGOs and all the relevant stakeholders in China, which is the most populous, the second-largest economy, and one of the most emerging countries.

This tool is a simpler version of the Emission Quantification Tool developed by IGES and CCAC to support a rapid assessment for not only GHG but also Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) i.e. black carbon, associated with MSW management in a city/country, considering the Life Cycle Perspective.  

The user manual for the modified tool was also developed by CCET to provide step-by-step instructions to users on how to enter data and obtain results, utilizing either country/regional specific data or indicated default values.