Creating the enabling conditions for eliminating open burning of waste through regional roadmaps and city pilots

This project was approved in 2022 under the CCAC's call for transformative action in the waste sector. 

The open burning of waste is practiced across the Global South, producing a wide range of atmospheric pollutants including short lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), such as black carbon. Black carbon emissions are a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a leading cause of poor health & premature deaths. Black carbon is also a climate forcer, with a climate change impact up to 5,000 times greater than CO2 and of a scale equivalent to 2-10% of global CO2 equivalent emissions.

Despite its catastrophic impact on health and the environment, the open burning of municipal solid waste (MSW) has been widely neglected by funding institutions and governments who often lack the tools and capacities to take action. This is coupled with a lack of awareness on the impacts of open burning of waste, and the consequences of black carbon emissions.

Project reference: [WST-22-001] Creating the enabling conditions for eliminating open burning of waste through regional roadmaps and city pilots

What we're doing

This project will result in the development of regional roadmaps based on national and sub-national reviews of the burning of municipal solid waste, accompanied by city pilots and on-the-ground implementation.

This will pave the way for a transformation in the waste sector, equipping regional bodies as well as national and local governments with the capacity and tools to take action for reduction of SLCPs. The project will create the enabling conditions for change by building technical capacity, raising awareness, and promoting investment in the waste sector to catalyze investment in tackling open-burning.