Waste Resources and Climate Change: Implications and Mitigation

Waste occurs both from human and natural activities on daily basis. Sustainable waste management is paramount to reducing the effect of global climate change due to increased greenhouse gases (GHG) arising from unsustainable waste management. In most developing countries, management of waste is mostly done through very primitive methods with the consequences that the environment is made more unsafe for human survival. Increase in the global temperatures will surely lead to an intensification of the hydrological cycle, resulting in changing seasons and subsequently increased risks of more extreme and frequent floods, drought, and costly growing health impacts. Unsustainable waste management results not only in climate change but also impose serious negative consequences on the environment. This paper investigates the impact of waste resources on the environment and implications for climate change, and other necessary mitigation responses towards the possible impacts of climate change with particular emphasis on the Nigeria environment.