Kick-off Workshop of IWM NAMA – China’s way towards low-carbon development in the waste sector

January 30, 2018

The China Integrated Waste Management NAMA Support Project (IWM NAMA) launched its kick-off workshop on January 30th, 2018 in Beijing.

Around 130 participants from the waste sector representing the national and local governments, academic institutions, industry and media, including stakeholders from 10 potential project demonstration municipalities, attended the workshop. Mr. Su Yunshan, the Director-General of the Department of Building, Energy and Science & Technology, MoHURD, gave the opening speech. “It is a great opportunity to fully utilise the outcomes of the IWM NAMA project, to promote the development and low-carbon transformation of the waste sector in China, which will contribute to the establishment of a resource-efficient and environmentally-friendly society, as well as will help to achieve the Chinese government’s pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions”.

Mr. Thomas Shapiro-Bengtsen, the Energy Counsellor of Royal Danish Embassy, Ms. Feng Mei, the Project Officer of the Delegation of the European Union and Mr. Ralf Becker, the First Secretary of the German Embassy also joined the event. In his opening remarks, Mr. Becker stated, “Greenhouse gas emissions from waste sector can be reduced and at the same time through integrated waste management jobs and growth in China’s new economy can be generated. Climate change mitigation and low carbon development can happen together with economic development in a green economy with the right policies and planning.”

Further on, Mr. Thorsten Giehler, the Country Director of GIZ in China, and Mr. Xu Wenlong, the Vice President of CAUES, emphasized the high importance of the IWM NAMA project. Mr. Yang Hongyi, the Director of Urban Environment Sanitation Management Division, in his turn, provided a summary regarding the status and future development trends of the municipal solid waste (MSW) management in China.

Introducing the project, Ms. Sandra Retzer, the Head of Sustainable Urbanization, Transportation and Energy, GIZ China, explained participants the background of IWM NAMA, its aims and plans. The Secretary-General of CAUES, Mr. Liu Jinghao, announced the selection criteria for the demonstration municipalities and officially launched the process.

In the afternoon, a half-day training on IWM was held. Chinese and international experts in the field of waste management and climate change were invited to share their experiences on waste segregation at a source, NAMAs (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions), IWM and waste-to-energy technology. In the course of experience exchange, the representatives from Beijing and Xiamen presented their achievements and plans on waste management and waste segregation.