Hernan Carlino
Climate change is currently at the top of the agenda – how do you think this debate will influence the waste industry?
Climate change is at the top of the political agenda both nationally and internationally. However, I do not think that this pre-eminence is temporary, or likely to change soon. In fact, the consolidation of an international climate change regime is inevitably setting up the rules for the establishment of a carbon economy that will dramatically transform the current paths of economic development. And a clear long-term carbon price will be the main signal that this process is effective in tackling climate change and is being internalized by economic players everywhere. Remaining discussions should now be focused on the nature of the policies put in place and the instruments to be used to address climate change at the international and local level.
The waste industry has a key role to play in the mitigation of climate change due to the relatively large share of greenhouse gas emissions from waste management and due to its global nature – one way or another, waste and waste management are a part of the core societal activities of production and consumption. Thus, the challenge posed by climate change to economic activities and the need to identify ways in which to deal with it effectively will inevitably be extended to the waste industry.
The main ways in which the waste industry can contribute to mitigating climate change are related to optimizing processes for the treatment of waste flows and energy conversion. Spreading the message about the need for sustainable consumption is also a task to be taken up by the waste industry.
What are the key challenges for the waste sector in terms of greenhouse gas emissions?
At the global level there is a clear need to participate in and contribute to designing an architecture that requires effectiveness and fairness, by means of the hands-on expertise and know-how the waste industry has accumulated. Flexibility, technological innovation and the will to adapt to a changing regulatory environment are equally important.
At the national level, the waste industry, particularly in developing countries, can play a proactive role by facilitating participation in the mechanisms that are already in place to address the problem. In addition, particularly as resource constraints are stronger in those countries, it is necessary to ensure that investment decisions are taken with proper consideration of the opportunities provided by carbon markets.
To what extent do you think policy – and decision-making are based on sound scientific knowledge?
There is a robust base of scientific evidence. Of course there are uncertainties – this is a learning process for everyone including decision makers and policy designers; hence, some of the initial approaches might not have been entirely successful or appropriate for achieving the proposed goals. In any case, we need to accelerate the learning process while seeking efficient solutions to the problems of climate change.
What role do you think market-based mechanisms, such as taxes, CDM and so on, can play in the limiting of greenhouse gas emissions from the waste industry?
As climate change appears to be both the ultimate cross-sectoral issue and a global challenge, it requires a global framework to avoid inconsistencies and facilitate the transformations that are the prerequisite of the vast, even dramatic, emissions reductions required to address climate change.
Market mechanisms, current and in development, and carbon prices are the linchpin between economic activities as they are performed in the present and a ‘new’ world in which renewable energy, absolute energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, maximized recycling and sustainable consumption are the dominant patterns. The waste industry can and should advance these transformations, ameliorate the transition and diminish the costs of its materialization by fully employing its array of resources.
 |
Interviewer for the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA): Helena Bergman, ISWA Project Manager
e-mail: hb@iswa.dk
Waste management and greenhouse gases
Waste management generates carbon dioxide and methane, with emissions occurring during almost all stages of waste management, from transportation through to recycling, recovery and final disposal; however, they can be reduced in a number of ways. For example:
- rationalizing collection operations
- use of alternative fuels or alternative transportation
- substituting energy from fossil fuel with waste-to-energy
- installing landfill gas collection and treatment systems
- use of landfill gas as fuel
- increasing waste recovery and recycling
- increasing compost production
There are a large number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the Kyoto protocol. Waste-related projects account for about 10% of the approved projects. Most of the waste-related projects involve landfill gas capture and the use of landfill gas for energy generation or as a fuel.
