EDD2017: Lab debate: Financing city waste management for urban development and climate mitigation

Moving city waste management plans to full implementation

On 7 June 2017, the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), European Investment Bank (EIB) and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) are organizing a lab debate during the European Development Days 2017 (EDD2017) on the topic of "Financing city waste management for urban development and climate mitigation".

Proper waste management in urban areas benefits health, environment, and the economy. Landfills emit significant methane emissions – a powerful climate-warmer – and which contributes to smog. Economic and population growth in developing countries make transforming the waste sector even more urgent. Upfront costs are outweighed by major economic benefits. Financing is needed to match the ambition of many cities and countries that are ready to act. Together with development bank partners, city and country representatives from developing countries will discuss the steps, successes and challenges to move from city waste management plans to full implementation – as well as financing options and supportive technical assistance.

Registration is mandatory. Please register online before 13 May. You will receive a confirmation.

For any additional information, please contact Tatiana Kondruchina (Tatiana.Kondruchina.affiliate@unep.org, +33 144 37 42 93).

Background

The world currently produces 1.3 billion tonnes of landfill waste annually. In developed countries like those in the European Union waste generation is falling due to increased recycling rates and the use of waste in energy recovery and production. For example, material that was deposited to landfill in the EU 28, Iceland and Norway dropped from 31 percent of total waste generated to 22 percent between 2004 and 2010. However in the rest of the world, the trend is upward with global solid-waste generation rising from more than 3.5 million tonnes per day in 2010 to more than 6 million tonnes per day in 2025.

In many developing countries waste is poorly managed, leading to health issues from seepage into waterways and from toxic air pollution and black carbon (soot) emissions caused by burning waste. Improper waste management also contributes to methane emissions, which warms the atmosphere and helps create another risk, tropospheric ozone.

The European Investment Bank is one of the largest financers of climate action globally lending an estimated €110 billion between 2015 and 2020. In a study to look at ways to reduce short-lived climate pollutants the bank concluded when looking at other benefits beyond decreasing the carbon footprint of projects the Bank found waste and waste water projects “not only contribute consistently to emissions savings, but also have positive impacts on the environment (e.g. water and soil quality), on the health of the local population, and on the economy by increasing resource efficiency”. The Bank feels that in particularly add value in this sector.

Related publications and materials

• http://www.eib.org/infocentre/publications/all/eib-report-on-slcps.htm
  
  EIB report on short-lived climate pollutants
  
   
• http://www.eib.org/attachments/climate_in_everything_we_do_en.pdf
  
  “Climate in everything we do”
  
   
• http://breathelife2030.org/news/marcelo-mena-qa/ 
  
  Interview with Marcelo Mena, Chile's Vice Minister of Environment on his vision for clean air