Peru Takes Important Next Step in Methane Mitigation Waste Sector Project

CCAP helps Peru’s ambitious methane mitigation waste sector initiative to advance to Detailed Preparation Phase II of the NAMA Facility process

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The NAMA Facility Board has announced its approval for CCAP, ImplementaSur, UNEP and Peru’s Ministry of Environment (MINAM) to advance to the next step of an ambitious initiative to transform Peru’s waste sector and set it on a low-carbon pathway. The Project has now successfully entered Detailed Preparation Phase II (DPP)—the final phase prior to implementation to ensure that it will meet its desired objective of accelerating Peru’s progress toward a circular and carbon-neutral waste sector.

Photo Credit: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The goal of this novel project is to reimagine Peru’s waste sector from a system that relies on landfills to one that introduces circular economy concepts and strives to derive value from the significant organic fraction of the country’s waste stream, as well as capture methane emissions and convert them to useable energy. The proposal consists of 22 waste recovery projects, focused on the technologies of landfill gas recovery, composting and anaerobic digestion.

The Peru project is one of five ambitious proposals that has been selected to go forward in the DPP, from an original application pool of 58 projects worldwide. To learn more about this project, check out this recent blog.

“CCAP is thrilled to enter this next phase together with our strategic partners in Peru’s Ministry of Environment, ImplementaSur and UNEP,” said CCAP Methane Mitigation Program Manager Brooks Shaffer. “If successful, this project could help overcome perceived investment risks by showcasing successes for reducing emissions and promoting circular economy concepts in the sector, leading to replication in other countries across the region.”

At the end of the DPP process, the proposal will provide clarity on financial parameters, identify partners and other stakeholders and present robust business models for each type of mitigation project—such as composting, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas to energy. The DPP will be completed towards the end of 2023 and, if successful, will lead to the project’s implementation over the ensuing five years.

Social implications regarding how to better include gender considerations and co-benefits for the local communities will be assessed, as well as the strategy for scaling up and replication across the country. CCAP and its partners will identify regulatory barriers for municipalities and the national government to address, and the final proposal will outline concrete activities and outreach strategies to inform and engage citizens—for example, promoting activities such as separation at source and home composting programs.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organic waste is the source of over 36% of Peru’s methane emissions—an amount that is projected to increase. By 2025, the World Bank forecasts that Peru will be generating 36,000 tons of waste per day or over 13 million tons per year. Over 50% of this waste is organic, which decomposes to produce methane gas.

Methane is a super pollutant, whose impact is 86 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year period. Even though it is responsible for half of today's net global warming, methane receives only 2% of global climate finance. Methane mitigation is recognized as the single most effective strategy to reduce global warming in the near term. A circular organic waste-to-beneficial reuse system diversifies the sector, creating additional economic activities and new green jobs, while mitigating potent methane emissions and reducing landfill dependence and growth.

“The waste sector is notoriously underrepresented in terms of receiving funding to achieve its vast methane mitigation potential,” Brooks added. “The sector has significant untapped mitigation potential that is waiting to be unlocked.”

Initial modeling suggests that the project could lead to the direct reduction of 12.34 million tCO2e over 20 years, and indirect emissions reductions of over 24 million tCO2e. It would allow the processing of 7,600 tons per day of organic waste, the equivalent of the total capacity of four large landfills in Peru, or 69% of the organic fraction of municipal waste produced in 2018.

This Peru NAMA project is part of CCAP’s current Climate Action program, which focuses on methane mitigation in the waste sector. The overarching goal of the program is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by advancing policies, programs and projects that contribute to sustainable waste management.

In the past, CCAP led the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) Latin American Regional Waste City Network—a network of 24 of the largest cities in the region to build the capacity of waste stakeholders at the municipal level—to provide a forum for participants to share best practices and learn from others in the region and help cities prioritize MSW actions and measures.

During COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, CCAP and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) also announced the new Recycle Organics-Caribbean program. ECCC has committed to investing CAD$4 million into the program to support four Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to reduce methane emissions within the waste sector over a four-year period. The country partners to be engaged in this project are Belize, Grenada, Guyana and St. Lucia. Read more here.

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CCAP’s mission is to support every step of climate action, from ambition to implementation. A recognized world leader in climate policy and action, CCAP creates innovative, replicable climate solutions, strengthens capacities, and promotes best practices across the local, national, and international levels to accelerate the transition to a net-zero, climate resilient future. CCAP was founded in 1985 and is based in Washington, DC.