SÃO PAULO, JUNE 6, 2018 – Greenhouse gas emissions from the Waste sector in Brazil suffered a slight drop of 0.7% in 2016, driven mainly by the recession in the country and the decline in waste management, according to the latest study by SEEG (System for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions), from the Climate Observatory, released this Wednesday (6).

Download the report here.

In the year that Brazil's GDP decreased by 3.6%, emissions from the sector totaled 91.97 million tons (Mt) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e), representing approximately 4% of national emissions. The reduction compared to 2015 was most evident in the waste disposal subsector, which saw a reduction of 2.2%, accumulating 52.92 million tons of CO2e.

According to the SEEG report, a decline in waste management was also identified, with a greater quantity of waste being disposed of in an environmentally inadequate manner. “The sector is vulnerable in times of economic instability. Investments for operational maintenance of activities are relatively high for municipalities, and thus we saw a reduction in spending last year,” commented Iris Coluna, technical advisor at ICLEI South America and one of the co-authors of the study.

While the crisis period caused a drop in industrial production and consumption of goods, the reduction in emissions in the waste sector is not a result of more forceful measures being implemented by the Executive Branch. “In a scenario of economic recovery, the trend is for emissions to increase again in the medium term, as we have not identified greater compliance with national laws, such as the PNRS (National Solid Waste Policy), nor greater commitment in our NDC (National Determinant of Conduct),” warned Iris Coluna.

Among the four main subsectors – waste disposal, industrial wastewater treatment, domestic wastewater treatment, and waste incineration – municipal solid waste disposal remains the most significant, accounting for 57.51 Tbp of emissions in 2016, a slightly larger share than in 2015.

The Southeast region continues to be the main emitter, representing an aggregate of 51% of the sector's total emissions, with the most significant shares coming from the states of São Paulo (29%), Minas Gerais (11%), and Rio de Janeiro (10%).

While the sector's contribution at the national level is relatively low, in the urban municipal context, emissions from the disposal of solid waste and domestic effluents are more significant, potentially representing 10 to 201% of emissions in cities.

In its fifth edition, the SEEG analytical report presents estimates for the year 2016, as well as a revision of the historical data series from 1970 to 2016. During this period, the waste sector had the largest percentage increase in emissions in the entire Brazilian economy: 607% (from 13.3 million to 91.9 million tons of CO2 equivalent).