In support of the Environmental Protection Agency, GREENLIFE West Africa is developing Liberia’s methane reduction roadmap, and strengthening the capacities of stakeholders, national experts, communities, and key industries to implement it. The project is funded by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) through the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).
Since the project was launched in October 2023, the four sectors that emit methane gas in Liberia were identified, namely: waste, agriculture, energy, and transport. Moreover, the Methane Technical Working Group (MTWG) was established in December 2023 and its members’ capacities were assessed to ensure that they will add value to the development and implementation of the methane roadmap. Sub-working groups were also established, and several meetings were held to review documents related to each sector, describe the sources of methane emissions, and recommend measures to reduce the emissions from the sources.
Liberia’s waste sector is a key methane emitter, yet managing waste is a major challenge for the government. In light if this, Jose Davilla, a consultant of the CCAC, visited Liberia in early April 2024 to gather information on the waste sector, particularly the Whein Town landfill, located in Paynesville, Montserrado County. His mission was to assess the potential of harnessing methane gas from the Whein Town landfill and possibly the Cheesemanburg landfill to produce clean energy. Lenn Gomah, Assistant Manager for Chemical Management at the EPA and Gontorwon Saye Lah, Program Officer for GREENLIFE Liberia joined Mr. Davilla for his meetings and tours of the various sites.
As part of Mr. Davilla’s visit, a meeting was held with the Honorable Robert S. Bestman II, Mayor of the Paynesville City Corporation and Honorable John-Charuk Siafa, Mayor of the Monrovia City Corporation to gain entry into the Whein Town landfill and to discuss the conduct of a feasibility study of the landfill site to harness methane gas for Liberia’s energy sector.
In addition, a meeting was also held with Honorable James Karpu Momo, the Assistant Minister for Administration and Insurance at the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to clarify the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between EPA and MOT centered around the two institutions working together on the development and implementation of the Methane Roadmap. Liberia’s transport sector emitted 11.23 Gigagrams of methane in 2020 mainly from vehicles that are not fuel efficient. “We will be available to contribute to the development and implementation of the methane roadmap through our designated focal person,” the Minister said.
More stakeholder engagement will be held in the coming months as the GREENLIFE team compiles Liberia’s draft Methane Roadmap and rolls out a robust Communications Strategy which includes a short video documentary on the project, radio talk shows, jingles, and posters. The aim is to mainstream the methane roadmap into the public domain and national laws.
