Tadweer unveils plan to decarbonise waste industry

Wam

• Waste to Zero strategy
• Sector has been ‘overlooked’
• $5.9bn spent on Mena projects

Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer) is spearheading an initiative to address rising emissions in its industry.

The company launched its global Waste to Zero programme at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

“The initiative invites governments, private players, technologies, education institutions and the public to join hands, start looking at the challenge and provide a pathway to decarbonising the waste management sector globally,” Tadweer CEO Ali Al Dhaheri told AGBI.

Waste to Zero, which will be structured as a non-government organisation (NGO) with a chairperson and board of trustees, has been endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

Ahead of the launch, Al Dhaheri revealed that Tadweer – which joined the energy and utilities portfolio of sovereign wealth fund ADQ in December last year – had received over 100 declarations of interest in the initiative.

Costs will be covered through subscriptions to the NGO.

The initiative will examine how much the industry contributes towards the climate crisis on a global level, with plans to reveal the findings at Cop29.

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It is estimated that the waste management sector is responsible for 5 to 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

By Cop30, the group will produce a list of up to 50 bankable, prioritised projects across the globe.

“We will say, based on our review, based on our assessment, these are the most critical waste-related projects that require action immediately,” Al Dhaheri said.

It is the first time the waste management industry has been given a platform at the Cop summit.

“We believe that the sector has so far been overlooked or under-addressed in previous groups, so we’re happy to be the lead,” Al Dhaheri added.

Ten waste-to-energy projects with an aggregate budget of $5.9 billion are being planned across the Middle East and North Africa, according to regional tracker Meed Projects.

Urban waste generation in Middle East countries is estimated at more than 150 million tonnes a year.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait all rank in the top 10 of solid waste generation per capita, according to BioEnergy Council.