Economic and environmental evaluation of climate change mitigation measures in the waste sector of developing countries

• The GACMO analytical framework is adapted to suite the waste sector of developing countries.
• The GACMO framework is further modified to make it accountable for the timing of mitigation measure implementation.
• The adapted methodology has proved as a useful tool for waste sector policies in developing countries.

According to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, the mitigation potential of waste sector in developing countries is three times higher than the one of developed countries, which highlights the role of this sector for mitigation action in the developing world. In this paper, the analytical framework for assessment of climate change mitigation potential of waste sector, which is based on GHG Costing Model (GACMO), is adapted in order to incorporate the specifics of developing countries regarding waste generation, waste disposal and population growth. The methodology is further modified to generate marginal abatement cost curves based on achievable cumulative GHG emissions reduction (over the whole period), thus taking into account the timing of mitigation measure implementation. The adapted analytical framework is applied for the case of Macedonia's waste sector, evaluating the following four mitigation scenarios: Mechanical biological treatment (MBT) with an aerobic treatment (composting), MBT with an anaerobic treatment (anaerobic digesters with energy production), MBT with an anaerobic treatment-anaerobic digesters with energy production and refused derived fuel (RDF) utilization and MBT with an aerobic treatment (composting with RDF utilization). Each mitigation scenario includes also a gas extraction with flaring for the existing non-compliant landfills. The resulting marginal cost curve indicates a total achievable reduction of cumulative emissions for the period 2013–2030 of around 20 Mt, or nearly 80% lower than Business-As-Usual (BAU) waste sector cumulative emissions, at average specific reduction cost in the range 8.9–12.44 US$/t.