Climate change mitigation solutions for municipal solid waste management in Brazil

The project aims to reduce GHG emissions in Brazil's municipal solid waste (MSW) sector by supporting up to 30 municipalities or consortia in implementing low-emission treatment infrastructure. With a total indicative cost of USD 50 million (USD 15 million requested from the GCF), the initiative focuses on biogas recovery, anaerobic digestion, and the formalization of waste pickers. It seeks to transition from uncontrolled landfills to sustainable systems, targeting a mitigation impact of 45,352,640 tCO2e over a 15-year lifespan. The project will provide technical assistance for public-private partnerships (PPPs), develop legal roadmaps, and implement awareness campaigns to promote a circular economy.

• Brazil's waste sector emissions have grown by 28% since 2010, reaching 92.05 MtCO2e in 2020, with the majority associated with disposal in uncontrolled landfills, dumps, and sanitary landfills.
• Methane (CH4) is the dominant greenhouse gas in the waste sector, representing 95% of total emissions, with uncontrolled landfills releasing significantly more methane (928 Mt in 2016) than sanitary landfills (875 Mt).
• The project targets a total estimated mitigation impact of 45,352,640 tCO2e over its 15-year lifespan by supporting the development of sustainable landfill systems in up to 30 municipalities or consortia.
• Waste pickers (catadores) are critical to the MSW value chain, with estimates of around 1 million people in 2020, 70% of whom are women; however, they operate predominantly in informal and hazardous conditions.
• Brazil significantly underutilizes the energy potential of MSW, exploiting only 7% to 20% of biogas produced in landfills for energy purposes.
• Significant barriers hinder MSW management, including a lack of municipal technical capacity, low financial investment (approximately five times lower than other countries), and a cultural lack of awareness regarding waste segregation.
• The project will utilize a programmatic approach to unlock private investment through public-private partnerships (PPPs) with 30-year concession agreements that include mandatory GHG mitigation clauses.
• The proposed technical model emphasizes mechanical and biological treatment and ultra-dry anaerobic digestion to process the organic fraction of MSW, which constitutes more than half of Brazil's total MSW volume.
• The total indicative project cost is USD 50 million, with USD 15 million requested as a GCF grant and USD 35 million in co-financing from the state budget, municipalities, and the private sector.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2022). Climate change mitigation solutions for municipal solid waste management in Brazil. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/30470-climate-change-mitigation-solutions-municipal-solid-waste-management-brazil.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Climate change mitigation solutions for municipal solid waste management in Brazil. 2022. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/30470-climate-change-mitigation-solutions-municipal-solid-waste-management-brazil.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Climate change mitigation solutions for municipal solid waste management in Brazil |date=29 December 2022 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/30470-climate-change-mitigation-solutions-municipal-solid-waste-management-brazil.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2022climate, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Climate change mitigation solutions for municipal solid waste management in Brazil}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/30470-climate-change-mitigation-solutions-municipal-solid-waste-management-brazil.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }