Climate Justice and Methane Mitigation in the Waste Sector: From Local Action to Just Transition

Methane emissions from the waste sector remain one of the most underaddressed sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the Global South, despite generating direct health, environmental and livehood co-benefits for frontline communities when action is taken. Effective mitigation requires more than technical solutions: it demands regulatory frameworks that assign clear responsibilities, community-based action that involves and benefits frontline workers, and accountability mechanisms that link national commitments to local implementation.

This panel brings together perspectives from technical research, environmental law and climate litigation to examine what enabling conditions: technical, legal, institutional and social, make methane mitigation in the waste sector effective and in the pathway to climate justice and just energy transition. Drawing on experiences from Mexico and open to perspectives from other regions, the discussion focuses on the role of subnational governments, informal waste workers, civil society organizations and legal actors in driving systemic change. The objective is to identify practical, replicable pathways for countries seeking to integrate methane mitigation into just transition strategies in the waste sector.