LEDS LAC, CCAP, ImplementaSur, and the Global Methane Hub have partnered to develop a new Community of Practice on Methane Emissions Reduction from Organic Sources in Latin America and the Caribbean (CoP Met-LAC). This initiative will support 10 countries in the region in their efforts to meet the Global Methane Pledge target of cutting methane emissions by 30% by 2030. The CoP Met-LAC will foster peer learning, provide technical assistance, and encourage knowledge exchange among key stakeholders in the waste sector. As part of the broader Recycle Organics program, the CoP will include Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru.
“This new initiative embodies one of the core goals of the Recycle Organics program,” said Brooks Shaffer, Director of Methane Mitigation Programs at CCAP. “Facilitating knowledge-sharing on win-win opportunities to tackle the organic fraction of waste, learning and sharing with other public and private sector waste professionals, and building a regional community of practice equipped to replicate innovative and locally appropriate waste management policies and projects is key to the program’s success—and will accelerate meaningful action to reduce methane emissions from the waste sector.”
The CoP aims to raise awareness about the substantial opportunities to cut methane emissions and harness the value of organic waste, while helping create enabling conditions for rapid and effective implementation of sustainable projects. Its goal is to promote and accelerate public policies, business models, and investment-ready projects that mitigate harmful waste sector emissions while advancing other sustainable development objectives. Solutions include composting, anaerobic digestion, food waste reduction, and landfill gas capture. Scaling up these practices improves local environmental quality, creates green jobs, and helps countries move toward a circular and sustainable economy.
Composting facilities, for example, transform methane-producing organic waste into compost, which can be used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, and agriculture—replacing synthetic fertilizers. Greenhouse gases generated by decomposing waste can be captured and transformed into biogas, a renewable energy source that can power local economies and support fossil fuel phase-out. Food recovery and redistribution efforts divert organic waste from landfills while reducing food insecurity and methane emissions.
“By strengthening South-South knowledge exchange and capacity building, we believe this Community of Practice will help participants learn from what’s already happening in the region and build or scale their own initiatives to reduce methane emissions,” said Gerardo Canales, Director of ImplementaSur. “As the global climate agenda increasingly recognizes the urgency of cutting methane, collaborative efforts like CoP Met-LAC—which promote public policies, business models, and investment strategies for reducing methane emissions from organic sources—are not only necessary but imperative.”
The CoP includes decision-makers from national and local governments, as well as representatives of regional and international networks and organizations involved in waste sector governance. Participants will take part in a two-year series of activities designed to exchange knowledge and build capacity. These activities include:
In addition, the CoP will document and disseminate success stories, best practices, and tools through knowledge products and webinars, reaching a wider audience of stakeholders. Over the long term, the CoP aims to accelerate countries’ progress toward a circular and carbon-neutral waste sector and build a stronger regional community of decision-makers equipped to deliver inclusive, transformative organic waste solutions—contributing to the Global Methane Pledge.
More broadly, CoP Met-LAC seeks to foster positive change in the region by promoting collaboration, sharing best practices and lessons learned, and advancing innovative approaches to reduce methane from organic waste, contributing to sustainable development and a greener future for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“For LEDS LAC, this is an opportunity to continue fulfilling our mission of promoting and supporting system transformations essential to reaching regional climate goals and advancing low-emission, climate-resilient development,” said Virginia Vilariño, Technical Coordinator at the LEDS LAC Secretariat. “Methane mitigation is a strategic priority in our work, and we’re excited to partner with CCAP and ImplementaSur to leverage their expertise and help facilitate learning across countries, organizations, and individuals to accelerate progress.”
The CoP will hold its inaugural workshop in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2023. Stay tuned for updates, including the official launch of the Community’s webpage.
Methane is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 86 times greater than that of CO₂ over a 20-year period. According to the Global Methane Assessment (GMA, 2021), cutting methane emissions from human activities is one of the most effective strategies to slow global warming and stay on track to keep temperature rise below 1.5°C.
Methane is also one of the most dangerous short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), responsible for 40% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution. Waste accounts for 18% of all human-caused methane emissions.
As population and urbanization increase, per capita waste generation is also expected to rise. When the organic fraction of waste—such as food scraps, yard waste, paper, or wood—breaks down in landfills, it produces large amounts of methane that pollute the air and contribute to global warming.
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), organic waste makes up around 50% of the waste stream in Latin American countries. The lack of treatment options and recovery measures at disposal sites is causing significant methane emissions, leachate contamination, and public health issues.
There are many local and regional initiatives across Latin America and the Caribbean focused on recycling, anaerobic digestion, composting, and other methane mitigation strategies. However, these efforts are often fragmented and disconnected from national climate and development targets.
The Recycle Organics program supports countries in achieving the Global Methane Pledge target of a 30% reduction in methane emissions by 2030, while delivering environmental, economic, and social benefits to local communities. The program focuses on enabling policies and projects and works to create the necessary conditions to sustainably scale organic waste treatment technologies—building a lasting community of practice in the regions it supports.
Recycle Organics places particular emphasis on working with developing countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are among the least responsible for the climate crisis but often the most vulnerable to its effects. These countries are disproportionately affected by extreme heat, intensified storms, and flooding—making it more urgent than ever to meet the Paris Agreement target of keeping warming below 1.5°C.
The Recycle Organics program currently supports 19 countries and is funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), the Global Methane Hub, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through various initiatives and projects.
