Methane causes a third of global warming. Yet we can reduce it quickly — we lack market design, not technology.

An article on Trellis by Ian McKee offers a concrete proposal for financing large‑scale methane emission reductions — and quickly.

Methane is many times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO₂ in the short term, but it persists in the atmosphere only briefly. That means that cutting it now will have an immediate effect on slowing warming...

...and organic waste offers a huge opportunity:

- organic waste makes up ~50 % of all waste worldwide

- it is almost 100 % recyclable, yet biologically less than 5 % is processed

- in landfills it decomposes without oxygen and produces methane

- composting and anaerobic digestion instead turn it into fertilizer and green energy

The problem isn’t technology — it’s market design. Cities want to divert waste from landfills but fear the costs. Developers want to build capacity but lack predictable demand. Companies want to cut methane but have no way to scale it.

It is necessary to create a predictable market that will make project financing accessible. In other words, to create an ecosystem that will have clear long‑term rules and will include:

- catalytic carbon financing from companies with methane exposure

- extended producer responsibility (EPR) for food waste

- payments based on waste volume (Pay‑As‑You‑Throw)

According to UNEP, full implementation of measures in the waste sector could reduce annual methane emissions by 16 % by 2030 and prevent ~1.8 Gt CO₂e per year by 2050.

Source: Trellis / Ian McKee (Carrot), 03/2026 | UNEP Global Methane Status Report 2025