LEDS LAC and Reciclo Orgánicos’ Latin America’s partner organizations, ImplementaSur and the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), have partnered to initiate this new Community of Practice focusing on the reduction of methane emissions from organic sources (CoP Met-LAC). The Met-LAC CoP is funded by the Global Methane Hub and will have a focus on CH4 reduction from organic sources. The CoP will consider the need and opportunity to support CH4 emission reduction practices that go beyond linear waste management systems and center circular economy approaches. With this purpose, the technical expertise of CCAP and ImplementaSur will be supported by LEDS LAC’s Resource Efficiency Working Group, which is operated by Asociación Sustentar, based in Argentina.

Objectives

The objective of the Met-LAC CoP is to promote and support the development of public policies, business models and investment projects to reduce methane emissions from organic sources in Latin America and the Caribbean, through exchange of experiences, cross-country and cross-stakeholder dialogue, capacity building and technical assistance for activities such as avoidance of Food Waste and Loss (FWL), composting, production of bioenergy from organic waste and others, with a circular economy approach. Specifically, Met-LAC CoP will:

Projects that are already supported by Reciclo Orgánicos provide an initial target group and a wealth of lessons learned and good practices to be shared in the new CoP. Additional members and experiences, as well as opportunities to disseminate knowledge and provide technical assistance, can be identified through collaboration with LEDS LAC´s Bioenergy Community of Practice.

Why Methane?

Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas, 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the atmosphere over a 20-year time period. According to the Global Methane Assessment (2021), reducing human-caused methane emissions is one of the most cost-effective strategies to rapidly reduce the rate of warming and contribute significantly to global efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Considering the importance of methane emission reduction to achieve climate goals, as well as other environmental, social and economic benefits, 150 countries have joined the Global Methane Pledge, agreeing to take voluntary actions to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030, which could eliminate over 0.2˚C warming by 2050.

About the Organizations Involved:

The Global Methane Hub was created with the mission to accelerate action by governments, civil society, researchers, investors and the private sector through the development and implementation of strategies that will catalyze systemic and rapid reductions in CH4 emissions in the energy, agriculture and waste sectors. In line with that mission, the Global Methane Hub has provided support to the Chilean organization ImplementaSur and the CCAP to expand and scale-up to the Latin American Region the Reciclo Orgánicos program, which was successfully implemented in Chile, with support from the Canadian Government cooperation.

Reciclo Orgánicos Latin America has the objective of accelerating implementation of methane mitigation projects in the waste sector, and creating enabling conditions for a sustained expansion of organic waste management technologies that provide important environmental, economic and social benefits. As of June 2023, the project has supported the development of more than 100 project proposals in 6 countries, and the implementation of 11 projects expected to mitigate 1, 316,313 tons of CH4 over the next 20 years.

The LEDS LAC Platform is a network of organizations and individuals working in the promotion, design and implementation of LEDS in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Platform is led by a Steering Committee formed by representatives of government, civil society and international organizations, and a Secretariat operated by Peruvian organization Libelula Comunicación, Ambiente y Desarrollo. During the strategic planning for the 2023-2025 period, LEDS LAC has identified methane mitigation as a potential new area of work, due to the importance of promoting action through dialogue, collaboration and capacity building.

Through its 10 years of existence, LEDS LAC has developed capacities and instruments to facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and collaboration to promote and support climate action in specific topics, through the creation of Communities of Practice with several partners from international cooperation. The methodology provides general guidelines to organize and conduct activities, but is flexible to accommodate specific requirements and circumstances depending on the topic, the expected results and the participating members.

For more information on the Met-LAC CoP please contact the LEDS LAC secretariat at secretaria@ledslac.org.