From Waste to Waves: Can Port Cities Turn Methane Mitigation into Low-Carbon Shipping Fuels?

Prepared by: Prof. Dr. Fawzy El-Issawy Younes — Desert Research Center, Egypt

1. Session Information

The session was held at the Transport Pavilion during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, at 12:00 noon Turkey time (TRT). It was organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition (CEET) — an independent advisory body to the UN Secretary-General — and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

2. Speakers

The session was moderated by Dr. Semida Silveira, Professor of Systems Engineering. The speakers were Dr. Roberta Cenni, Head of the Biofuels Department at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping; Dr. Alessandro Sanches Pereira, Executive Director of Instituto 17 (i17) and representative of CEET; and Mr. Camille Bourgeon, Technical Officer in the Marine Environment Division of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

3. Session Concept

The session addressed a central question: can coastal cities in the Global South combine two objectives in a single pathway? The first is reducing methane emissions from organic waste, wastewater, and landfills; the second is producing low-carbon liquefied biofuel (Bio-LNG) for bunkering ships. The underlying idea is that urban waste is not only a burden but also a resource that can create national development opportunities.

4. Highlights from the Session

4.1 International Maritime Organization: From Policy to Implementation

The IMO representative presented a package of programmes moving sequentially from policy — national action plans, Annex VI of MARPOL, and national frameworks — to capacity-building through training, institutions, and regional implementation; then to technology through feasibility studies, pilot trials, and demonstration projects; then to finance through bankable proposals, grants, and investment mobilization; and finally to partnerships involving industry, ports, research, and finance. The presentation stressed that these initiatives are complementary rather than substitutes. The core objective is to turn technical cooperation into emission-reduction results that are locally owned, financially sustainable, and measurable.

4.2 How Climate Law Can Create Development Opportunities (Dr. Roberta Cenni)

Dr. Roberta Cenni gave a presentation titled “From Waste to Waves: How Climate Law Can Create Development Opportunities Across the Global South,” focusing on converting urban methane into low-carbon shipping fuel. She presented a case study of Lagos, Nigeria, on the environmental and economic feasibility of converting organic waste into Bio-LNG. The value chain can be summarized as follows: feedstocks from landfills, sewage sludge, and food waste; anaerobic digestion to produce biogas; use of the digestate as fertilizer, conversion by pyrolysis into biochar, or drying for energy generation; possible carbon dioxide storage or utilization; liquefaction, transport, and port handling; and finally ship operation using biofuel. Renewable energy is used to power the various stages and to serve local communities.

4.3 A Replicable Framework for Global South Ports (Dr. Alessandro Sanches Pereira)

Instituto 17 presented a vision for replicating “waste-to-Bio-LNG” pathways across coastal cities. It concluded that scale is not the main obstacle; rather, the key constraints are scientific evidence and economic value. The institute proposed a transferable assessment framework based on six issues.

First, feedstocks: quantities must be measured and collectable and contractable, not merely administrative estimates. Second, additionality: only streams not yet utilized should be used, while landfill gas should remain a separate pathway. Third, emissions life cycle: a “well-to-impact” assessment should be conducted in accordance with IMO guidelines, clarifying leakage, methane slip in the engine, and the counterfactual scenario. Fourth, scale and cost: the reference unit is a plant producing 33,400 liters per day of Bio-LNG, equivalent to a biomethane plant of 20,000 m³ per day with liquefaction — about 12.2 million liters or 5,200 tonnes per year — with capital cost estimate accuracy of ±30%. Fifth, port and offtake: bunkering readiness, the size of vessels received by the port, and buyers under carbon pricing. Sixth, finance and risk: separating the preparation grant from first-phase capital and allocating feedstock, offtake, and energy risks.

The Lagos figures as shown on the slides were as follows: about 68,000 tonnes per year of Bio-LNG from food waste alone, equivalent to 13 reference plants; production costs of between USD 800 and USD 1,500 per tonne, or two to three times the cost of fossil LNG; emissions intensity of between −100 and +35 gCO₂e/MJ, depending on methane control and certification and crediting rules; and a CEET joint screening range for the city of about 100,000 to 170,000 tonnes of Bio-LNG per year.

The institute announced that the materials are open source: the Lagos report and reports on five Brazilian ports — Santos, Pecém, Itaqui, Paranaguá, and Açu — together with data, calculation files, and a simulator for estimating the value of Bio-LNG for a ship according to fuel emissions intensity, available through a QR code displayed at the session.

5. Lessons for Application in Egypt

Note: This section contains the author’s analysis and recommendations based on the presentations; it is not part of the session’s own outputs.

First, the available basis. Egypt has strategic ports on the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal — including Alexandria, Damietta, Port Said, and Sokhna — as well as large flows of urban and agricultural organic waste and wastewater treatment plants. Shipping linked to Europe provides an additional incentive, given that shipping is subject to carbon pricing and European shipping fuel requirements.

Second, proposed steps for application.

1. Inventory feedstocks by measurement, not estimation: conduct a field survey of food waste in wholesale markets, hotels, and food factories in coastal cities, rather than relying on administrative figures, in application of the first dimension of the framework.

2. Apply the additionality criterion: identify currently unutilized streams, keep landfill gas as a separate pathway, and avoid competing with existing uses such as animal feed and fertilizer.

3. Conduct life-cycle assessment according to IMO methodology: this is a direct area of expertise for Egyptian carbon-footprint and greenhouse-gas verification experts, with documentation of the counterfactual impact and methane leakage.

4. Start with a demonstration project using one reference unit: select a single port — for example, a Mediterranean port or one in the Suez Canal Economic Zone — for a preliminary feasibility study based on one reference unit, then scale up.

5. Build the financing structure: separate the preparation grant from capital financing, submit bankable proposals to international partners and climate funds, and clearly allocate feedstock and offtake risks.

6. Use the open-source materials: use the Lagos and Brazilian port reports and the simulator as a methodological model for preparing a comparable Egyptian report.

7. Link to by-products: direct digestate to organic fertilizers and biochar to support agriculture and improve soil fertility in new desert lands, thereby connecting the session to sustainable agriculture and food security.

8. Institutional and legislative framework: coordinate waste-management, energy, maritime-transport, and port authorities, and link the project to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and adaptation and mitigation plans.

Third, challenges to note. Biofuel costs are higher than fossil fuel costs; projects need carbon pricing or crediting mechanisms to cover the gap; regular and source-separated feedstocks are difficult to guarantee; and ports must be ready for LNG bunkering.

6. Conclusion

The session affirmed that converting organic waste into low-carbon shipping fuel is a realistic option in terms of available quantities, and that the real challenge lies in reliable scientific evidence, economic value, organized finance, and port readiness. Egypt possesses important elements for building a similar national pathway — geographical location, ports, large waste volumes, and carbon-footprint expertise — while what remains needed is an accurate field inventory, a demonstration project, and financing partnerships.

Source of information: The presentations and slides delivered at the session and photographed during attendance. The figures are reproduced as shown on the slides and should be verified against the original materials published by the speakers before scientific citation.