COP28 Side Event: International regulations and national policies driving waste management and circularity

3 December 2023
09:00 a.m.–10:30 a.m.
Waste and Resources Pavilion
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Environmentally sound management of wastes, and its responsible trade, is essential in mitigating climate change and promoting a circular economy. The waste management sector can play a vital role in climate mitigation through a multitude of actions. First, through direct GHG reductions from solid waste management and, second, indirectly through the effects of waste prevention, re-use and recycling. Waste recycling and resource recovery – which are at the core of a circular economy - offer potential GHG reductions in the magnitude of up to 20% of the global emissions. The side event will explore the role of international regulations and national actions in driving waste management and circular economies in order to respond to the climate crisis.

Programme

Moderator:

• Ms. Corinne Trommsdorff, Executive Director, French Solid Waste Partnership

Panelists:

• H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• Ms. Ghada Waly, Executive Director, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC )
  “Global actions to combat waste crime and illegal trafficking in waste”
• Mr. Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary, Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (BRS Conventions)
  “The role of the Basel Convention in turning waste into resources and combating climate change”
• Mr. Neil Khor, Special Advisor to the Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
  “Overview of the contribution of solid waste management to climate change, including major challenges in developing countries”
• Ms. Pia Tanskanen, Head of Environment, Nokia
  “Private sector engagement to meet global environmental commitments on waste management, circularity and climate change”
• Mr. Roland Marion, Director of Circular Economy, French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME)
  “Success factors that allow circularity in value chains”
• Mr. Carlos Silva Filho, President, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)

Photo gallery