Linking wastes and climate change: Bandwagoning, contention, and global governance

Abstract

In the light of long‐standing waste activist involvement in global climate negotiations, and the waste industry's condemnation of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, this review examines the links between wastes and climate change as global problems. It describes the main technological and policy responses in utilizing waste and waste management to combat climate change—and the main sources of contention. Next, it scales up to the global level, demonstrating how waste‐climate linkages have entered the broader arena of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and associated agreements and organizations. This review incorporates the theoretical literature in the field of global environmental politics that can be brought to bear on this complex case. It focuses on the literature on linkages across issues and governance regimes, and work on climate “bandwagoning” (Jinnah, 2011)—strategic linkages whereby actors expand their mission to include climate‐oriented goals that might further their own agendas, looking at variants of this behavior that might explain the emerging relationships between global climate and global waste governance and politics. This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > Multilevel and Transnational Climate Change Governance

Linking ocean and climate change governance

“…“Discursive” efforts frame issues to highlight the climate relevance of a particular issue. Direct approaches complement these by aiming to alter regime practices and institutional designs, such as the case of including waste in the Clean Development Mechanism (O'Neill, 2019). The success of converting discursive efforts into direct bandwagoning outcomes might depend on the availability of “discursive hooks” for these frames, through the opportunities that the negotiating agenda provides for the frame being employed (Allan, 2018).…”

“…International treaty secretariats are also relevant agents, such as the desertification convention secretariat in highlighting the relevance of drylands for climate mitigation and adaptation (Conliffe, 2011), which also connects to a related literature on secretariat influence in negotiating processes (Jinnah, 2014). Non‐state actors are also relevant agents, as the ever‐growing participation of civil society groups and industry representatives in making cases for and against waste‐climate bandwagoning illustrates (O'Neill, 2019).…”

Energy-Climate Transition in Tourism Destinations in Croatia

“…A destination that wants to achieve an energy-climate transition needs a comprehensive approach to management and development that balances the technological, economic, and social factors of the urban ecosystem (Monzon 2015;Magni et al 2020). By combining the development of ICT-driven smart cities and sustainable energy, the concept of energy transition is approaching a digitally mediated version of low-carbon cities (O'Neill 2018;Onyanta 2016). Energy, sustainability, and smart cities are related concepts that require an integrated approach to promote quality of life and sustainability (Krstinić Nižić and Blažević 2017).…”

Should carbon removal be treated as waste management? Lessons from the cultural history of waste

“…Blomsma & Brennan [13] trace the umbrella concept of the circular economy, noting that from around 1985 onward, there was excitement about viewing waste as a source of value, with the wider discussion around sustainable development surfacing during this time. Since the mid-2000s, Zero Waste and Circular Economy programmes have been popular around the world, and this discourse has also been connected with climate change, as O'Neill explores [14]. The circular economy is 'restorative and regenerative by design', as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation puts it, underpinned by a transition to renewable energy [14].…”

“…Since the mid-2000s, Zero Waste and Circular Economy programmes have been popular around the world, and this discourse has also been connected with climate change, as O'Neill explores [14]. The circular economy is 'restorative and regenerative by design', as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation puts it, underpinned by a transition to renewable energy [14]. The circular model is not simply about dealing with waste, but producer-led transformation involving both industrial symbiosis and extended product life (see [15]).…”