Could Carbon Trading Benefit the Municipal Solid Waste Management System in Sydney?
Wednesday 7 May 2008, 1.10 – 1.55 pm Civil Engineering Lecture Theatre 3 Abstract: Climate change is a driving force behind some recent environmental legislation around the world. Greenhouse emission reduction targets have been set in many industrialised countries. Therefore, a change in current practices of almost all industrial sectors is unavoidable, if the set target is to be achieved. Although waste disposal contributes around 3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Australia (mainly due to fugitive methane emissions from landfills), the carbon credit and trading scheme set to start in 2010 presents challenges and opportunities to municipal solid waste practitioners. Technological advances in waste management, if adopted properly, could allow the municipal solid waste sector to act as carbon sink, hence earning tradable carbon credits. However, due to the complexity of the system and its inherent uncertainties, optimizing the system for carbon credits may actually worsen its p
