Experts for Zero-Waste pathways to cut methane, plastic emissions in Pakistan’s climate plans

Experts at a consultation called for practical measures to reduce waste-sector emissions, tackle plastic pollution, and strengthen Pakistan’s climate commitments under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2026) Experts at a consultation called for practical measures to reduce waste-sector emissions, tackle plastic pollution, and strengthen Pakistan’s climate commitments under its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The consultation, titled: Earth Day 2026: Waste Sector Emissions, Plastics, and NDC Pathways in Pakistan, was organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in collaboration with Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Working Group here on Wednesday.

The experts said Pakistan’s waste sector offers significant opportunities for climate mitigation through methane reduction targets, improved monitoring systems, circular plastic economy initiatives, city-level waste management reforms, and stronger integration of SMEs and informal waste workers.

The consultation aimed to generate actionable policy recommendations to address methane emissions, promote zero-waste pathways, and integrate circular economy solutions into Pakistan’s climate planning framework.

Ambily Adityan, Programme Officer for Zero Waste Cities, GAIA said that the waste sector, particularly landfills, is the third-largest source of methane emissions globally, and methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short-term. She said reducing methane emissions from organic waste represents one of the fastest and most cost-effective climate mitigation strategies.

More than 45 countries have already endorsed the COP29 declaration on reducing methane emissions from organic waste, she said, adding that significant new financial resources are now being directed towards methane action in the waste sector as countries prepare enhanced climate plans ahead of COP30.

Highlighting that plastic contributes to greenhouse gas emissions across its lifecycle from fossil fuel extraction and refining to manufacturing and disposal, Ambily warned that by 2050, plastics alone could account for over one-third of remaining global carbon emissions if current trends continue.

She emphasized that reuse systems could eliminate up to 75 per cent of plastic packaging emissions, while composting and improved landfill management could reduce methane emissions by as much as 95 per cent.

Highlighting GAIA’s global achievements, she said hundreds of cities are committed to adopted zero-waste strategies, several countries have adopted policies to reduce single-use plastics, and international financial institutions, including the World Bank, have scaled back support for waste-to-energy incineration projects. She stressed that waste-to-energy incineration is not a climate solution but a carbon-intensive and toxic option that can worsen environmental and public health outcomes.

Zainab Naeem, Head of Ecological Sustainability and Circular Economy at SDPI, said SDPI had initiated consultations to develop position papers aimed at guiding national climate planning and strengthening the waste component in Pakistan’s updated NDC framework.

She noted that although changes in government priorities had influenced the vision for revised NDCs, Pakistan’s updated climate commitments remain ambitious and commendable.

She stressed the need to shift greater policy focus towards food waste, which remains insufficiently addressed despite Pakistan generating approximately 120 kg of food waste per capita annually.

Ms Naeem said Pakistan’s current emphasis on banning single-use plastics must be complemented by viable alternatives, improved recycling systems, and stronger data integration on plastic imports, local production, and electronic waste handled under hazardous conditions.

She added that SDPI, in collaboration with GAIA, is working to identify alternatives to waste-to-energy solutions while encouraging the scaling up of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups in recycling and circular economy initiatives. She said outcomes of the consultation process would help guide the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC) and the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination in devising strategies intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the waste sector.

Presenting research findings on plastic waste and methane emissions, SDPI researcher Amna Arooj said Pakistan generates nearly 49.6 million tons of solid waste annually, of which 60-65 per cent is organic. She noted that Pakistan consumes approximately 2.7 million tons of plastic annually, with nearly 86 per cent mismanaged through open dumping, landfill leakage, or uncontrolled disposal. She said less than 10 per cent of plastic waste is segregated at source and only 7-9 per cent recycled, resulting in an estimated annual loss of more than $300 million in recoverable material value, while urban plastic pollution cleanup costs exceed $50 million each year.

She further said that around 20 million tons of food loss and waste annually about 26 per cent of total food production, represents an economic loss exceeding $4 billion. If processed effectively, this organic waste could generate up to 2.4 billion cubic meters of biogas and around 12,000 GWh of energy.

Environmental consultant Shabih ul Husnain and Suthra Punjab Project consultant Usman Khan underscored the importance of improving plastic quality and source segregation. They noted that 30-40 per cent of municipal waste in Pakistan is combustible but difficult to process due to weak segregation systems.

Kamran Hanif, Waste management expert, pointed out that verification gaps remain a major challenge in Pakistan’s NDC and Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) processes due to fragmented institutional coordination and the absence of standardized frameworks.

The consultation also discussed successful international examples such as refill systems in India, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and community-based waste picker cooperatives like SWaCh in India, while emphasizing that locally tailored solutions including extended producer responsibility, integrated resource recovery centres at union council level, and formal inclusion of informal waste collectors are essential for scaling sustainable waste management across Pakistan by 2040.