CANCUN, Mexico, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Cutting emissions from the waste-management sector would go a long way toward curbing potential temperature increases, a U.N. official said in Mexico.
The U.N. Environment Program estimates the global waste-management sector is responsible for as much as 5 percent of the world's man-made greenhouse gas emissions. That's roughly the same as the international aviation and shipping sector, UNEP adds.
The United Nations said it estimates that emissions need to be less than 45 gigatons within the next decade if there is any hope of keeping global climate change in check.
UNEP said the waste-management sector was working to reduce greenhouse gases such as methane from reaching the atmosphere. The agency said the time was "ripe" to speed up action on a country-by-country basis to address high-emitting industrial sectors like waste management.
"This offers multiple benefits ranging from curbing greenhouse gas emissions to generating new green jobs and increased access to energy from waste-into-electricity projects," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said in a statement.
UNEP said a "best-case scenario" would see emissions cut dramatically if all global warming pledges are fully implemented.
