Live from Baku: Putting Waste on the COP29 Agenda

For the first time, waste is officially on the agenda of the COP presidency. And this year’s climate conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan, includes a number of events that discuss the potential of waste management to help mitigate climate change 

COP29 is a pivotal moment for the waste and resources sector, marking the first time a COP declaration has formally included waste. The COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste will push for national climate policies that set concrete targets to reduce methane from waste and food systems, aligning with the 1.5°C goal.  

Methane contributes to half a degree of current warming and has 80 times the warming effect of CO2 over 20 years. According to the Global Methane Pledge, founded at COP26, to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach, methane emissions must drop by 30–60% by 2030 alongside CO2 reductions.  

After agriculture (40%) and fossil fuels (35%), waste (20%) from food and other organic materials left in landfills, open dumps, and wastewater, is the third largest source of methane emissions worldwide. It seems only logical to have a special focus on when fighting climate change. 

Of course, sound waste management needs money. Especially when looking at the global disparity in waste management, this is a challenge in itself. Hopefully, this year’s “finance COP” discusses – and brings – solutions.  

Peter Simoes, Chair of ISWA’s Working Group on Climate Change & Waste Management, discussed the outcome of the Global Waste Management Outlook 2 (GMWO2024), published earlier this year by UNEP and ISWA, which shows that waste generation will continue to grow. To address this issue, ISWA in their Declaration for COP29 focused on four topics: 

• Circular waste and resources management address the triple planetary crisis 

• Organic waste management towards a low carbon future 

• Set global waste and resource management goals 

• Structure financing models and funding mechanisms 

COP Presidency has waste on its agenda 

The importance of shining a light and ultimately fighting methane and other non-CO2 emissions has finally reached the high-level discussions at COP. The United States, the People’s Republic of China, and Azerbaijan held a summit aimed at accelerating efforts to reduce emissions of said greenhouse gases. 

The direction of the event was clear: There are already several initiatives and actions in place to mitigate methane and CO2 but – there was a big but in nearly every presentation – more, much more needs to be done.  

Senior Advisor to the US President for International Climate Policy John Podesta discussed US legislation to reduce methane emissions, adding with fervor that the processes cannot be stopped. He called for more unity and collaboration closing his remarks by saying: “For our sake and for our children’s sake: Failure is not an option.” 

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev argued that we must address all emissions sources, first and foremost agriculture and organic waste. This is the reason the COP Presidency included organic waste in their declarations. According to him the Reducing Organic Waste Declaration will drive urgent action on waste management and cut methane emissions in the waste sector this decade. He urged countries to include diverting organic waste from landfills and reducing food waste in their NDC. 

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol called on Parties to the Paris Agreement to heed the COP 28 Global Stocktake call to deliver 1.5C-aligned 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets covering all greenhouse gases and to set net-zero targets covering all greenhouse gases. “Minimizing methane emissions is also a good plumbing issue,” he said. “Make your tubes tighter.” 

Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, unveiled draft regulations aiming to cut landfill methane emissions by half from 2019 levels by 2030 and introduced caps on emissions from oil, gas, and LNG production to further drive methane reductions. “Our message to those who emit methane is clear: you can run, but you can’t hide.” 

All in all, the partners agreed to the following:  

• Finance: Over $2 billion in international grants and billions more in investments mobilized over the past three years to address super pollutants.   
• Policy: New regulations aimed at reducing methane emissions in the oil, gas, and landfill sectors, including from five of the top 20 methane emitters. 
• Science: Launch of the first Global Nitrous Oxide Assessment, showing a potential 40% reduction in N2O emissions, alongside new efforts to track and reduce the climate impact of tropospheric ozone. 

Stay tuned for live updates from COP29, the Waste and Resources Pavilion and beyond!