Carbon Finance and Decentralized Composting in Asia

Abstract

The solid waste sector is a significant contributor to methane (CH4) emissions with a global warming potential (GWP) of 21 times more than that of CO2 bringing the need for preventive actions from this sector. In the recent years, composting projects both centralized and decentralized have proved to be addressing this issue. However, much of the decentralized composting projects failed due to their financial and other operational constraints that arise during the course of the implementation. On this regard, the current article reviews the potential of carbon finance as an opportunity for funding decentralized composting projects through demonstrating the application through emission calculation of four cities in Asia. On assessing the emissions, it also identifies the benefits associated with the emissions reduction from the composting projects which might not be available in the absence of the projects. The article also discusses the various carbon financing strategies available in the present market to identify the potential market for inclusion of decentralized composting projects. In the process, the article identifies the issues in the implementation of decentralized composting projects under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other carbon markets in general.